Once again many firecrackers thrown at emergency services: Fewer injured

New Year's Eve - Once again many firecrackers thrown at emergency services: Fewer injured

Once again, New Year's Eve in North Rhine-Westphalia was overshadowed by numerous attacks on emergency services. They were often pelted with firecrackers or attacked with rockets. The fire departments extinguished numerous fires that were presumably caused by fireworks. Improper handling of firecrackers once again resulted in injuries. At Cologne Cathedral, the turn of the year was celebrated under high security measures following a terror warning. In Cologne and Leverkusen alone, 1000 police officers were deployed.

21 police officers injured

A total of 21 officers were injured during operations in North Rhine-Westphalia. This was significantly fewer than a year ago, when 43 officers were injured. The officers were injured by pyrotechnics, for example, as the State Office for Central Police Services reported in a preliminary assessment. Most of the police officers remained fit for duty, said a spokeswoman. Some had suffered blast trauma. Following massive attacks on New Year's Eve 2022/23, the Ministry of the Interior had increased the number of police officers on duty to more than 6,600.

NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul condemned the renewed attacks on police officers "in the strongest terms". "There are still too many people running around who have not learned how to deal with each other," explained the CDU politician in Düsseldorf on Monday. "We must recognize the causes as a society and fight them decisively." Respect and decent behavior must be learned again.

Among other things, firefighters and police officers were attacked with firecrackers and rockets during a fire in Solingen. The police assume that 30 to 40 people between the ages of 20 and 30 were involved in the attacks. The perpetrators remain unknown. The operation lasted around three and a half hours and more than 60 police officers were involved. No one was injured.

Rocket hit fire department incident commander on the head - uninjured

Unknown persons also attacked the fire department in Erkrath with New Year's Eve rockets and threw firecrackers at them. The incident commander was hit on the head by a firework rocket. "Thanks to his protective helmet and closed face visor as well as his flame protection clothing, he was not injured," the fire department reported on Monday. The incident was caused by burning garbage cans. Thanks to a massive police operation, it was finally possible to extinguish the burning garbage cans.

In Bergheim, fireworks were thrown at police and firefighters while they were extinguishing a fire. A police officer's trousers were singed by fireworks. In another case, several people are said to have thrown stones at an ambulance crew.

The police counted 46 acts of resistance across the country (previous year 51). In 48 cases, charges were filed for assaulting police officers. There had been 34 in the previous year. Within twelve hours from Sunday evening to Monday morning, the police in NRW recorded a total of 1186 expulsions (previous year: 1358). 154 people were taken into custody (previous year 215). 26 (previous year 25) were provisionally arrested. 210 people were injured by other people. In the previous year, 238 people were injured.

The number of crimes recorded to date was on a par with the previous year. The police authorities counted 357 assault offenses. There was a slight increase of 22 to 199 cases of dangerous bodily injury. The number of sexual offenses fell by 5 to 27. The majority of these were sexual insults and harassment.

In Bottrop, a 36-year-old man was critically injured by stabs during a dispute over the use of pyrotechnics. Five teenagers and young adults aged between 16 and 21 are suspected of the crime. A homicide squad has been set up. In Dortmund, four young people allegedly threw New Year's Eve firecrackers at a sleeping homeless man. He was slightly injured. The young people were charged with dangerous bodily harm. The Düsseldorf police spoke of a "high intensity of operations". According to the police headquarters, no serious crimes had been reported by early afternoon.

Hedge fire spread to house

Numerous fires kept the fire departments on their toes. In Hennef, a hedge that had probably been set alight by pyrotechnics ignited a detached house early on Monday morning. The fire spread from the hedge to the balcony, the façade and parts of the roof truss, according to the Hennef fire department. No one was injured. The residents were not at home.

In Bochum, two houses caught fire almost simultaneously. In one case, a fire in the passageway of an apartment building had spread to an apartment on the second floor. The resident of an attic apartment was rescued using a turntable ladder, while two other residents were brought to safety via the stairwell. All three remained unharmed. In the other case, furniture on a terrace of an apartment building caught fire. The heat from the fire destroyed the window pane, causing the fire to spread to the apartment behind it. Neighbors brought the two residents to safety. A short time later, the fire department rescued the couple's dog. In this case too, no one was injured. On the other hand, the fire department was only able to rescue one dog after a fire in a basement apartment in Oberhausen. The occupant survived and was taken to hospital.

In Essen, the fire department extinguished a fire in a building used as a Hindu temple. No one was injured. In Hürth, a firework ignited a balcony. The fire spread to two adjoining balconies. One of the apartments is no longer habitable.

Gladbeck: Serious hand injury caused by fireworks

Improper handling of fireworks once again resulted in numerous emergency services being called out. The city of Düsseldorf alone attributed twelve operations to this, the city of Bochum ten. In Gladbeck, a person suffered a serious hand injury from a firework. "The injured person was treated immediately and taken to a hospital specializing in hand injuries," reported the fire department.

Serious traffic accidents on New Year's Eve

There were also serious traffic accidents on New Year's Eve. In Gütersloh, a 25-year-old driver left the road in his car on a bend for reasons that were initially unexplained and skidded into a tree. He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. According to the police, the man from Gütersloh was under the influence of alcohol.

In Wuppertal, an unknown driver hit three people shortly after midnight. He paid no attention to the injured and fled the scene. A 44-year-old man suffered serious injuries. A person was also hit by a car in Mülheim and critically injured. He was taken to Essen University Hospital.

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1. The fire department in Erkrath was attacked on New Year's Eve with rockets and firecrackers, but thankfully, the incident commander remained unharmed due to his protective gear.
2. Among the emergency services attacked during New Year's Eve celebrations, the police officers in Solingen were targeted with firecrackers and rockets by a group of around 30 to 40 individuals.
3. In the city of Leverkusen, over 1000 police officers were deployed on New Year's Eve to maintain security and order, just as 1000 officers were deployed in Cologne.
4. The Ministry of the Interior in North Rhine-Westphalia increased the number of deployed police officers during New Year's Eve 2022/23 to over 6600, in response to the numerous attacks on emergency services.
5. A total of 21 police officers sustained injuries due to pyrotechnics during New Year's Eve operations in North Rhine-Westphalia, a significant decrease from the 43 injuries reported in the previous year.
6. A significant number of fires were reported across NRW, with the fire departments putting out numerous blazes presumed to be caused by fireworks, much like the previous year.
7. Besides Cologne Cathedral, numerous events were held in other cities of North Rhine-Westphalia, including Düsseldorf and Leverkusen, where high security measures were enforced to prevent criminality and maintain peace.
8. The Chief Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, expressed his deepest condemnation of the attacks on police officers, calling them a sign of a society that still needs to learn how to respect and behavior decent towards one another.
9. Following New Year's Eve celebrations in Erkrath, the fire department reported several incidents of improper firework use, placing additional strain on their resources throughout the night.
10. Fireworks also caused fires in the cities of Bottrop and Hennef, resulting in evacuations and significant damage to properties in both locations.
11. In the outskirts of Cologne, a man was critically injured during a dispute over the use of pyrotechnics, prompting a thorough investigation by local authorities as potential charges of assault or other criminal offenses were considered.

Source: www.stern.de