Four people lost their lives across Germany during the country’s firework-filled New Year's Eve street celebrations. Fireworks are also suspected to have caused a significant warehouse fire, while emergency services in several cities were targeted by the public, with police coming under attack.

Germany's lively New Year's celebrations led to a particularly demanding night for emergency services, extending into the early hours of Wednesday morning. Reports from police and fire departments across the country indicated at least four fatalities, seemingly linked to explosions.

In multiple cities, emergency responders were targeted by pyrotechnics, a growing issue in recent years. One officer in Berlin was critically injured and required surgery. Berlin's university hospital reported treating eight people with severe hand injuries shortly after midnight, with the figure later rising to 15.

Berlin police, in an update early Wednesday, acknowledged the implementation of new no-fireworks zones in the city center, but still noted widespread challenges outside those areas. "We have had to carry out around 320 arrests. In several cases, both rescue workers and police were under fire from pyrotechnics," said Berlin police spokesman Florian Nath in a video posted online. To ensure safety, Berlin police escorted fire crews in the city, a measure that authorities stated had proven effective.

Nath also reported a police officer who had been severely injured, likely by an illegal firework, and had to undergo emergency surgery overnight.

In Cologne, police confirmed that two officers were injured by illegal fireworks, and similar incidents were reported in Leipzig, where a group of around 50 people attacked emergency services. Pyrotechnics also targeted officers and firefighters in parts of Hamburg and other areas.

Emergency crews responded to a range of fires across the country, including in trash cans, homes, cars, garages, and other items near the streets. In Neuwied, a small city in western Germany, authorities suspected a firework sparked a blaze at a warehouse, which escalated into a large fire. The blaze was reported just before 1 a.m.

Neuwied police described the warehouse, which stored timber and other materials, as "fully ablaze." Emergency responders evacuated nearby homes and successfully controlled the fire. However, they noted that the intense heat caused damage to nearby buildings, estimating the costs to be in the "medium six-figure range." Police suspected that the fire was caused by a New Year's firework and are continuing their investigation.

The fire was one of several incidents, with emergency teams previously responding to a similar blaze in the town center. Given the frequent occurrences, police, medical professionals, and firefighters have long advocated for a ban on fireworks or at least restrictions on the widespread New Year's Eve fireworks tradition. This practice had been suspended for two years due to COVID-19 measures, which were aimed at limiting public gatherings.

Meanwhile, the German pyrotechnics association pointed to the use of illegal fireworks as the root cause of the deaths and serious injuries. "These extremely dangerous DIY fireworks have nothing to do with legal, approved New Year's fireworks," argued Ingo Schubert, a board member of the association. Schubert emphasized that serious injuries could be "almost entirely prevented" with the proper use of approved fireworks and stressed that authorities should focus on cracking down on illegal pyrotechnics rather than limiting legally sold fireworks.