Thousands of missions

Thousands of operations: This is how New Year’s Eve went

Thousands of emergency calls were received by the emergency services on New Year's Eve - it was also turbulent in the city center of Vienna.

(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

Burns, amputations and more: the turn of the year was turbulent in many places in Austria. Despite numerous warnings about the dangers of using firecrackers, some revellers were unable to keep their hands off the firecrackers - especially young people. Rescue services, police and fire departments were almost constantly on duty. Things only remained quiet in the south, in Burgenland. 

A new year has begun. But in addition to the very special atmosphere that a New Year's Eve brings with it, the numerous call-outs should not be ignored. Thousands of emergency calls were received in the province in just 24 hours, often caused by accidents involving fireworks. There were two serious injuries in Upper Austria and Vienna, for example. But several fire incidents also kept the helpers on their toes. Krone.at provides an overview of the most disastrous incidents in the federal states: 

In Upper Austria in Bad Goisern (district of Gmunden), a firework exploded in the hand of a 14-year-old; in Ansfelden (district of Linz-Land), a 31-year-old suffered a similar fate, but with an F3 firecracker. The man suffered serious injuries and was taken to the accident hospital in Linz.

In Seewalchen (Vöcklabruck district), one person suffered facial and eye injuries from a firework, reported the Red Cross. In total, eight accidents involving fireworks were reported in Upper Austria on New Year's Eve. In Lower Austria, seven people were injured by firecrackers or fireworks on New Year's Eve.

In Vienna, several children and young people were injured. A 14-year-old and a 20-year-old were seriously injured, with the teenager suffering a partial amputation of a finger and burns to his hands and face. Both had to be taken to the emergency room. Other people were transported to hospitals with minor injuries. Overall, however, it was a quieter night compared to previous years.

Fines for fireworks:

Across Austria, over 9100 pyrotechnic items were also seized, an increase of almost 100 percent compared to the previous year. In the course of the New Year's Eve operations, 93 police mandates and 584 administrative reports were issued in accordance with the Pyrotechnics Act and the respective provincial laws.

There were fatal consequences in Bregenz in Vorarlberg when three children and young people aged between eleven and 14 experimented with homemade firecrackers. One of them suddenly exploded in the 14-year-old's hand, causing several of his fingers to be partially amputated . The hand was operated on in Feldkirch hospital. The explosion caused two splinters to enter the eyes of another boy, who also suffered holes in his eardrums.

In Tyrol, a 16-year-old boy was also injured after setting off a firecracker on a rain barrel in Imst, Oberland. His ten-year-old brother was hit in the face by splinters and taken to hospital in Innsbruck. In Carinthia, two men suffered undetermined injuries to their faces while handling fireworks.

A 20-year-old from the district of Villach-Land also wanted to set off a category F2 firework battery in a field in the municipality of Wernberg shortly after midnight. The projectile hit the man directly in the face. A 13-year-old boy from the district of Villach-Land was also seriously injured in the hand by a homemade firecracker on New Year's Eve.

In Burgenland, New Year's Eve passed off quietly. However, there was a fire in a sawmill.

(Bild: Alexander Flaschberger | BFKDO Oberwart)

From a police perspective, the New Year's Eve celebrations in Burgenland were "calm". There were no injuries after firecracker accidents. In Oberdorf in the Oberwart district, however, a sawmill caught fire on New Year's Eve.

In Styria, the police were called out to a total of 765 incidents on New Year's Eve. That was almost 100 more than a year ago. Several law enforcement officers were injured on duty, seven of them by a firecracker thrown in Leoben. 

Pyrotechnics are likely to have caused the fire in Henndorf.

(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Henndorf)

Stray fireworks may have set fire to the balcony of an apartment building in Henndorf am Wallersee near Salzburg on New Year's Eve. According to the police, a 17-year-old girl who had set off pyrotechnics in the garden beforehand is believed to have started the fire.