Berliners Are Setting Their Homes on Fire With Lockdown Fireworks

Berliners in lockdown were barred from shooting off fireworks around much of the city, so they took to their balconies instead—and it went about as well as you might think. Firefighters responded to 18 fires that broke out between midnight and 12:06 a.m. local time, and many more in the ensuing hours. Berlin residents traditionally set off fireworks in the streets on New Year’s Eve, but that practice was banned in many public places this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Firework sales were also banned in the weeks ahead of New Year’s throughout Germany, which has strict lockdown measures currently in place to combat another record-breaking surge in COVID-19 cases.