Winrich Krupp

Fireworks — A volatile splendour

Fireworks factories and warehouses are recurrently the scene of explosions and fires with serious consequences. Many of these incidents are due to the fact that safety directives, regulations, and laws are either non-existent, inadequate, or disregarded.

Bangers, firecrackers, fountains, and rockets: pyrotechnical devices harbour many dangers. This applies both to the raw materials and to every stage in the life of the fireworks themselves: manufacture, transportation, storage, and final ignition.

These dangers are particularly acute if fireworks are produced and sold illegally. Also, aspects that are subject to strict controls in certain countries are left completely unregulated in many others. Hence, the manufacturer and the composition — particularly the amount of hazardous ingredients and components — are frequently unknown.

The situation is made worse by negligent handling, disregard for regulations, homemade devices, the play instinct, and the intentional use of fireworks as weapons in, for example, football stadiums.

Generally speaking, more firework accidents occur in the private sphere during the run-up to New Year's Eve than at any other time of the year. Be that as it may, 35 people have already been killed throughout the world this year in accidents involving fireworks or fires caused by fireworks.

The premises of professional manufacturers and storage companies are often the scene of major disasters too. Although the majority of fires and explosions in recent years occurred in Asia — especially in the traditionally large fireworks-manufacturing countries of China and India — there have been serious accidents in Europe too.

The premises of professional manufacturers and storage companies are often the scene of major disasters too. Although the majority of fires and explosions in recent years occurred in Asia — especially in the traditionally large fireworks-manufacturing countries of China and India — there have been serious accidents in Europe too.

Explosion disaster in Enschede

On 13 May 2000, about 100 tonnes of pyrotechnic material detonated in two explosions at the warehouse of a fireworks plant in Enschede, Netherlands. A huge plume of smoke hung over the city. Within minutes, the surrounding residential area was devastated, with 400 homes destroyed and a further 1,000 damaged. 22 people died in the incident and more than 1,000 were injured.

Although the cause of the accident has not been conclusively established even to this day, it is considered certain that more explosive material was stored on the factory premises than the safety regulations permit. Moreover, the pyrotechnic material was wrongly classified. It had much more explosive power than that suggested by the labels. The scale of the disaster was also due to the fact that safety distances to the surrounding residential area were not observed.

Series of explosions in a fireworks factory in Kolding

On 3 November 2004, a series of explosions destroyed a fireworks factory in the Danish town of Kolding. The accident was probably due to the impact of a falling container, which triggered the spontaneous ignition of the fireworks stored in it.

This generated a local fire which led to numerous severe explosions on the site. The detonations could be heard up to 30 km away. The fire spread to nearby buildings. About 20 homes were destroyed by the flames and shock waves, whilst another 300 or so were damaged.

A number of buildings at a greater distance were also damaged, but in many cases it was weeks or even months before the damage became manifest — in the form of subsidence and cracks in the façades and walls. This type of damage was attributed in particular to the instability of the ground on which they were built and the use of light building materials in the construction of private houses.

The outstanding weakness in the planning and operation of the plant was — as in the case of Enschede — its immediate proximity to a residential area. The fact that certain regulations had not been observed contributed to the rapid spread of the fire over the entire site and surrounding houses and to the immense force of the explosion.

The prescribed maximum storage capacity was 800 tonnes, but according to the latest information, up to 2,000 tonnes of pyrotechnical material was stored there — more than twice as much.

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