Firecrackers, rockets & co.
New Year’s Eve madness begins: What’s allowed, what’s not
According to a survey, every Austrian will spend an average of 126 euros on New Year's Eve celebrations this year. However, only a minority buy fireworks. And yet, year after year, the days around the turn of the year cause serious accidents with fireworks. Krone.at explains what is allowed and what is not.
The use of fireworks is strictly regulated. Only categories F1 (from the age of 12) and F2 (from the age of 16) are freely available. And only category F1 may be used within the local area.
Use is prohibited in these places
The use of fireworks is always prohibited within and in the immediate vicinity of hospitals, children's homes, old people's homes and rest homes, churches, places of worship, animal shelters and zoos, even outside the local area. A specialist course is required for class F3 (18 years and over) and specialist knowledge is required for class F4 (18 years and over). Violations are also subject to fines of up to 3600 euros.
Despite the strict regulations, catastrophic accidents continue to occur in the country. For example, a firecracker brought a young man from Seewalchen (Upper Austria) to hospital the night before his 18th birthday. According to initial investigations, the teenager had filled the plastic casing of a thick pen with an explosive substance. He and two friends wanted to set off the homemade firecracker on a road just outside the town. But something went wrong.
Teen blows part of his hand off
At around 8 p.m. on Sunday night, the explosive device tore into the almost 18-year-old's hand and inflicted a large flesh wound. Part of the ball of his hand was torn out and the boy also suffered injuries to his face, fortunately not to his eyes. The Red Cross took the injured man to the hospital in Vöcklabruck for initial treatment, after which he was transferred to the accident hospital in Linz for microsurgery.
Numerous operations on New Year's Eve
The accident in Seewalchen will most likely not be the last one at the turn of the year. After all, Upper Austria is the "most dangerous" federal state after Vienna. Last year, the Red Cross and Samaritans had to attend to 50 revellers, and seven Upper Austrians were so seriously injured by fireworks that they had to be taken to hospital.
Moped set on fire
And for insurance companies, New Year's Eve is regularly one of the most expensive of the year: In Upper Austria, claims averaging between 400,000 and 500,000 euros are reported. The first property damage caused by firecrackers has already been reported from Braunau: The moped of a 58-year-old man, who had parked it in the evening, had been set on fire. Police officers were able to smother the flames, but the two-wheeler is a total loss. Whether it was deliberately or negligently set on fire remains to be determined.
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