Dutch fireworks nuisance hotline receives over 42,000 complaints

The Dutch fireworks nuisance hotline received over 42,000 complaints and several people were hurt in accidents with fireworks, Dutch media reported Monday. Regional fractions of the Dutch political party Groenlinks set out the initiative for the hotline. The party wants to map the size of fireworks nuisance and also pleads for a fireworks restriction, but a majority of the Dutch parliament is against a restriction. In the Netherlands, it is legal to buy fireworks for four days prior to the New Year celebrations. Fireworks can be set off between 10 a.m. (0900GMT) on Dec. 31 and 2 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Jan. 1, 2014, with those who break the rules facing a fine of 100 euros (1.379 U.S. dollars). "We would only like to see fireworks during professional fireworks shows. This is what happens in many other countries. It would give all the benefits of the fireworks, but with minimal disadvantages," the organizers stated on their website. Last year, 810 people were hurt in accidents involving fireworks. At least 34 percent of these people got hurt because of legal firework. In 2002, a catastrophic fireworks explosion occurred at a fireworks depot in the Dutch city Enschede, leading to an enormous explosion, which killed 23 people including four firefighters, and injured 947. The disaster led to intensified safety regulations in the Netherlands concerning storage and sale of fireworks. But in 2012 these regulations were liberalized again.