Quiet New Year's Eve in the Ennepe-Ruhr district: Only 62 missions!

Quiet New Year's Eve in the Ennepe-Ruhr district: Only 62 missions!

In the Ennepe-Ruhr district, the turn of the year 2025/2026 was a noticeably quiet occasion. How Lokaldirekt.de reported, the district control center recorded a total of 62 operations on New Year's Eve. These were divided evenly, with 31 calls for the fire brigades and the same number for the rescue service between midnight and 7 a.m. The Ennepe-Ruhr District Fire Brigade Association (KFV-EN) characterized the night as “relatively quiet” compared to other years.

But not all operations were without problems. Shortly before midnight, the Sprockhövel fire department was alerted to a burst water pipe in a residential building. After the water pipe was turned off, a water vacuum ensured that the water quickly disappeared again. After midnight, a balcony fire occurred in Herdecke, which spread to several parts of the building. It was particularly critical here because a woman with walking difficulties was in danger on the fourth floor. However, thanks to the rapid intervention of the Herdecke fire department, the fire was brought under control by 12:40 a.m., with six slightly injured people being treated by the emergency services.

Quieter New Year's Eve compared to other cities

Although the situation in the Ennepe-Ruhr district was quite relaxed, Germany presented a different picture on New Year's Eve. Loud tagesschau.de The year 2025 was marked by lots of fireworks, but also by a “peaceful New Year’s Eve”. However, there were still at least five deaths due to firecracker accidents and attacks on emergency services. In Berlin alone, the fire brigade and police had to be deployed in 1,892 cases. The balance sheet included 825 fires, 847 rescue service operations and numerous attacks on emergency services. In Cologne, police officers were attacked with fireworks, resulting in two injuries.

Feedback from all over Germany also showed that the number of injuries caused by fireworks and alcohol poisoning decreased. Hospitals often reported hand and facial injuries, which has repeatedly led to discussions in recent years about a potential ban on fireworks. The Pyrotechnics Association rejected these claims and pointed to illegal trade as the main cause of numerous accidents.

Experiences from previous years

For the emergency services and fire departments in Germany, New Year's Eve in 2020 and 2021 was relatively quiet due to bans on the sale of fireworks. In recent years, however, the number of uses has increased again. How mdr.de shows, between 2021 and 2025, emergency services often had to handle 40 percent more missions on New Year's Day than on an average Sunday. A look at the statistics shows that the number of deployments developed very differently from city to city.

While the city of Magdeburg recorded a decline in operations, operations in the Harz district rose sharply compared to the previous year. The experiences of a rescue service employee from the Harz district show that alcohol is often the main trigger for operations on New Year's Eve. Serious injuries, particularly from illegal fireworks, continue to be an issue.

Overall, the turn of the year 2025/2026 caused mixed feelings. While the Ennepe-Ruhr district had a comparatively quiet night, the challenges for emergency services in other cities are inevitable. The discourse about the safety of fireworks and possible bans will certainly continue in the new year.