Dutch emergency rooms saw spike in fireworks injuries over New Year

A significant increase in the number of fireworks-related injuries was seen in the Netherlands over the New Year. There were also more serious injuries, such as amputations. 

More firework-related injuries from Dutch New Year celebrations

With the government approving a nationwide fireworks ban after New Year’s Eve 2025, many residents took advantage of the last opportunity to buy and set off their own fireworks. However, not only were there a number of fires, including one in which the Vondelkerk in Amsterdam was badly damaged, and attacks on police and emergency services, but there were also a significant number of injuries.

According to VeiligheidNL, there were 1.239 firework-related injuries, 7 percent more than the previous year. 765 of these were seen at emergency clinics of GPs, slightly lower than the 795 in 2024-2025. On the other hand, visits to the emergency room rose sharply from 367 to 474, a record-high since the New Year of 2016-2017. 

Majority of fireworks injuries seen in children and teens

54 percent of all injuries caused by fireworks affected people under the age of 20. “It's notable that many injuries this year were caused by fireworks that were picked up and relit,” wrote VeiligheidNL.

"At least four out of 10 injuries were caused by fireworks that were legal during the last New Year's Eve," said Martijntje Bakker, director of VeiligheidNL. "The increase in emergency room casualties cannot, therefore, be explained by more illegal fireworks. However, people may have taken more risks during this, probably the last, New Year's Eve without a fireworks ban.” There were also more serious injuries, with 20 amputations recorded instead of 10 in previous years.

Many preventable injuries were caused by not taking the proper safety precautions, such as wearing safety glasses, using fuses and not re-lighting abandoned fireworks. “For example, only 7 percent of all victims were wearing safety glasses," explains Bakker.

Bakker hopes that the nationwide fireworks ban will help reduce the number of firework-related injuries. "A general ban on New Year's Eve fireworks could lead to a significant reduction in fireworks casualties in the short term and promote consistency in enforcement. In the long run, it will hopefully contribute to creating a new standard, one that can also prevent serious injuries from heavy, illegal fireworks."