Fireworks are an integral part of the winter holidays even though some cities across Europe have decided to ban them entirely. Others, however, are taking a less heavy-handed approach. The Danish capital of Copenhagen, for example, has kickstarted a massive awareness-raising campaign that aims to prevent accidents and promote the responsible use of fireworks in the city during the holidays.
Reaching out to the young
Experience shows that not everyone uses fireworks responsibly, and therefore the Copenhagen Police, Copenhagen Municipality and the Capital Emergency Management Agency are now launching a joint campaign focusing on the safe use of fireworks.
At the same time as the campaign, new legislation has also come into force stipulating that the penalties for aiming fireworks at citizens, police or fire brigade have been increased by a third.
“Most people can figure out how to keep their distance, take care of and take each other into account when firing fireworks. But last year we unfortunately saw that there were some who could not figure it out at all and therefore were a danger to the surroundings.
Therefore, we are now launching a campaign on the proper use of fireworks, which is aimed both at the young people and at their parents to inspire a talk with the children that fireworks should be used with care. All Copenhageners must be able to feel safe in their city – also around New Year,” says Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor Lars Weiss.
The new campaign is launched under the slogan “Fireworks are beautiful, but dangerous – use it responsibly”. As part of the campaign, City employees will reach out and distribute materials to residents of several residential areas as well as to school students and their parents via social media. In addition, the police will be visibly present and have an extra focus on the trade in and use of illegal fireworks.
As part of the campaign, officers from the Copenhagen Police Prevention Section together with representatives from the Capital Emergency Management Agency have also visited several Copenhagen youth clubs where it has been emphasized that young people should refrain from illegal fireworks and only use effects that are approved with a CE mark.
Source: TheMayor.EU
