Over 3,800 fire incidents during New Year’s; Significant church, school badly damaged

The fire departments in the Netherlands received thousands of reports about incidents across the country on New Year’s Eve and early on New Year’s Day. The incidents include a large fire in a Veghel church that is a historic monument, in a primary school building with a thatched roof, and a daycare center in Amsterdam.

The fire service received 3,833 reports of incidents nationwide during the new year’s period the fire brigade reported on the basis of an initial inventory among the 25 security regions in the Netherlands. That number is comparable to the last two New Year’s Eve periods, when fireworks were still banned due to the coronavirus crisis. In the year before the crisis, the number of reports to the fire service were well over 4,000.

This year more residential fires were reported than a year earlier: about 134 residential fires compared to 97 last year. On a "normal day" there are an average of 19 residential fires, based on the annual figures for 2021. During New Year's Eve 2021 into New Year’s Day 2022 there were almost five times as many. The fire service also received about 724 reports of container fires and 183 of car fires, both numbers slightly less than last year.

Very large fire in Veghel church brought under control

The very large fire that broke out after midnight in a monumental side building of the Sint-Lambertus Church in Veghel in Noord-Brabant was brought under control, said the Brabant-Noord Security Region. Many firefighters and multiple pieces of equipment rolled out to the scene. Personnel let the fire in the “monumental building to burn out in a controlled manner,” said the security region.

“Due to the favorable wind direction, the adjacent church was not in danger,” the security region said on Twitter. The fire was raging in the congregation chapel, a small building that currently serves as a mosque. The security region reported earlier in the night that the annex would probably completely burn down.

Ladder trucks and cherry pickers were on the scene to help extinguish the fire from above. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. According to the spokesperson, there were no initial reports that anyone was involved in the fire or was injured. Firefighters also drove tanker trucks around the area looking for fires caused by burning embers spread by the strong wind.

The neo-Gothic church, located on the Deken van Miertstraat, was designed by Pierre Cuypers. The extension behind it was also designed by Cuypers. Both buildings are considered national monuments. Cuypers also designed the building that houses the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the capital’s central train station, and several other churches in the country.

Fire in special thatched roof school in Utrecht

In Utrecht, a fire started on New Year's Eve in the Rietendakschool in the Ondiep district. The fire brigade suspects that fireworks caused the flames in the thatched building built in 1923. The fire was brought under control, reported the Utrecht Security Region.

It was a raging fire and "visible flames" were extinguished, the service said on Twitter. Specialists in dealing with reeds that catch fire were deployed to keep the fire from re-igniting. The fire damage was limited to the thatched roof, and there was smoke and water damage in the building, the service said. The cause is still under investigation.

"We hope that we can save the building," a spokesperson said earlier. Because according to him it would be an eternal shame if society lost such a beautiful building, designed in the Amsterdam School architectural style.

Fire broke out at the school on four other occasions. None of those incidents took place during the New Year’s period in other years.

Several fires during the New Year in Amsterdam

Several fires broke out in Amsterdam during the turn of the new year. Damage was also caused by fireworks or vandalism. For example, a daycare center on the Markengouw in Amsterdam-Noord suffered major damage due to fireworks. According to the fire service, all windows and facades were completely blown out causing an immense havoc.

A fire also raged in a gymnasium of a school on Zuid-Hollandstraat in the Buitenveldert neighborhood. Vandals likely threw a wheelie bin on fire through the window there, according to a spokesperson.

Earlier on New Year's Eve, a fire raged in a house at Ubbo Emmiushof in Nieuw-West, which was probably caused by fireworks. Two people suffered smoke inhalation, according to the fire service. They were evaluated by paramedics.

The Amsterdam fire brigade was particularly busy with many reports that came in after midnight. Those included container and roadside fires.

Arnhem Mayor: Most dangerous time of year

The mayor of Arnhem, Ahmed Marcouch, tried to carry on a New Year’s tradition started by Herman Kaiser, his predecessor. While Kaiser was mayor from 2013 to 2017, he would eat dinner with firefighters on New Year’s Eve.

Marcouch wanted to do the same on Saturday evening, but the firefighters were called out to an emergency. "The celebration of the New Year is the largest and perhaps the most dangerous event in the Netherlands. And this is only possible because people from the fire brigade, police and ambulance are ready for us to celebrate that party."

In some regions, there were people who threw fireworks at the fire brigade. Police and riot police were needed to help guarantee firefighters’ safety in several parts of the country, including the Haaglanden, Hollands-Midden and Gelderland-Zuid Security Regions. Tijs van Lieshout, the chair of the country’s fire service, said aggression and violence are “never acceptable.” He said first responders should never be the target of verbal or physical abuse “with or without fireworks.”

Thousands of firefighters are at the ready every year during New Year's Eve. Van Lieshout emphasized that it is the busiest time of the year for the fire brigade. The firefighters often have to deal with garbage container fires, car fires and outdoor fires. In previous years, most reports came in around midnight.