In recent years, the number of fires and injuries associated with fireworks on New Year's Eve has decreased.
One reason is that all rackets with sticks have been banned.
It is also completely forbidden to use ordinary firecrackers.
Unauthorized firecrackers make more noise
Nevertheless, there have been a lot of firecrackers in the week before New Year's Eve.
According to the Swedish Customs, the number of smuggled firecrackers has increased sharply this year.
There has been a doubling of the number of seized firecrackers and rockets compared to last year.
A third of the seizures where the recipient has been identified are minors.
Often they buy firecrackers from Polish websites.
- Some firecrackers are very powerful and can lead to serious damage to both people and property.
The most powerful explosions are on par with an explosive charge, says Mattias Ragert, press manager at the Swedish Customs Administration.
"Higher sound level"
According to Rolf Weinander, manager at the Swedish Agency for Public Safety and Preparedness, the imported firecrackers contain a different substance than what was in the previous firecrackers in Sweden in the 90s.
- They contain a substance that has both greater explosive power and a higher sound level.
"Wait at least 20 minutes"
It is most common that injuries occur because you do not follow the instructions, according to Samuel Dahlström who is a fire engineer at the Östra Götaland Rescue Service.
- If the firework does not go off after lighting it, it is very important that you wait 20 minutes before approaching.
It is one of the most common causes of injuries, he says.
Hearing damage is also common.
A loud enough bang can be enough to damage hearing.
Therefore, it is important to really keep the safety distances stated on the packaging.
In the video, you can see how loud sounds were measured during our test of ordinary and so-called "quiet" fireworks.