Around 2 pm, inside a company storing fireworks (net weight: 300 tonnes / gross weight: 2,000 tonnes), a fire broke out during an unloading operation on a 40-foot container subsequent to the mishandling of a box filled with fireworks rockets. The fire quickly spread within the container and to fireworks stored on pallets placed outside. The company activated its internal emergency plan and evacuated facility personnel. A 1-km safety perimeter was established around the site; local residents were also evacuated. Residents beyond this perimeter were asked to remain indoors.

Despite a few intervention difficulties (caused by smoke, noise, water supply interruptions, a defective nearby hydrant), fire-fighters were able to cool the closed fireworks containers stored adjacent to the ignited containers. An explosion occurred at 3:25 pm, killing one of the fire-fighters and injuring 7 others. Three additional explosions occurred at 5:45 pm.

The nearly nonstop explosions of fireworks lit the sky until the evening. The fire, which had been releasing a thick smoke, was only contained 2 days later. In all, this intervention mobilised 400 fire-fighters, with support provided by police officers and army pyrotechnics specialists. 63 people were examined at the hospital for smoke inhalation or hearing difficulties. A total of 450 homes, 11 businesses, fire-fighting vehicles and police cars were destroyed or damaged by the blast from these explosions or the various projectiles spraying a 1-km radius. Offsite property damage was estimated at €100 million.

The violent explosions of fireworks were surprising in that the containers were only filled with fireworks imported from China and therefore theoretically classified as 1.3G (i.e. without any risk of explosion).

Danish authorities decided to move the storage units containing pyrotechnic substances to rural zones. The country’s legislation on the manufacturing and sale of fireworks was revised to impose restrictions on purchases and use by the general public, along with limitations on the use of certain types of rockets by consumers.

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