German police and medical associations have repeated calls for a nationwide ban on the private use of fireworks, citing their reckless and dangerous use around New Year celebrations.

Germany: Police and doctors urge national fireworks ban.
German police and medical associations have repeated calls for a nationwide ban on the private use of fireworks, citing their reckless and dangerous use around New Year celebrations.

https://p.dw.com/p/4oi9t

Fire brigades, medics and police were expecting a busy New Year’s Eve (FILE PHOTO)Image: Julian Christian Schreiner/TNN/picture alliance/dpa
ADVERTISEMENT
Germany’s GdP police union and the German Medical Association were among those on Tuesday calling for a nationwide ban on private fireworks ahead of the New Year celebrations.

Although setting off fireworks is only permitted for a limited number of hours on News Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day, numerous instances of them being used recklessly have already been reported.

In recent years, celebrations have been repeatedly overshadowed by riots and attacks, with thousands of police officers and paramedics deployed across the country.

What are emergency services saying?
While GdP President Jochen Kopelke said he favored a ban, he also conceded that the political will did not yet appear to be there.

“We need more injured people,” Kopelke told German broadcaster ARD on Tuesday. “We need more emergency rooms that say: ‘We are overloaded’.”

“Every year the GdP calls for a firework ban. Every year the Federal Interior Ministry rejects a change to the explosives law and pushes the responsibility onto the states, to interior ministers who have reacted in part and established ban zones in some areas.”

The police union president said he believed that such ban zones were not very effective, with confusion about how the rules applied.

Calls for shift to organized displays
The spokesman for the Berlin Police Union, Benjamin Jendro, said centrally-organized fireworks could provide a safer alternative to private displays.