Fireworks injuries rise sharply over New Year, 1,239 people hurt

The number of people injured by fireworks over the New Year holiday rose sharply this year, with 1,239 people having some form of medical treatment, a 7% increase on last year after two years of modest declines.

Figures collected by public safety monitor VeiligheidNL show that visits to accident and emergency departments rose by 29% compared with the previous New Year. The data is based on reports from 81 hospital emergency departments and 89 of the country’s 99 out-of-hours family doctor services.

The rise in hospital admissions is particularly worrying, said VeiligheidNL director Martijntje Bakker. “These departments generally treat the more serious cases, so this points to an increase in severe injuries,” she said.

At least 41% of the accidents involved legal fireworks, a proportion similar to previous years. Children and young people were involved in more than half of all fireworks accidents with teenagers accounting for 44% of the total.

VeiligheidNL also reported a striking increase in accidents caused by people picking up fireworks that had already been set off. Around 40 such cases were recorded this year, compared with about 10 in 2025.

Around 80% of those injured were male, and just over half had lit the fireworks themselves, while the remainder were bystanders, VeiligheidNL said.