Enschede fireworks disaster

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The Enschede fireworks disaster, also known as Vuurwerkramp (Dutch: literally, "fireworks disaster"), was a catastrophic fireworks explosion occurring at the SE Fireworks depot on May 13, 2000, in the eastern Dutch city of Enschede.

The fire led to an enormous explosion which killed 22 people (including four firemen) and injured 947.^[1] The biggest blast was felt up to 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the scene. S.E. Fireworks was a major importer of fireworks from China and supplier to pop concerts and major festive events in the Netherlands. Prior to the disaster it had a good safety record and met all safety audits^[2].

Contents 1 Damage 2 Cause 3 Legal Proceedings 4 Controversy 5 Dutch fire safety regulations 6 Memorials 7 Disambiguation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Damage

A 500 square meter area (625 square yard) area around the warehouse was destroyed by the blast. Around 400 houses destroyed, 15 streets incinerated and a total of 1,500 homes were damaged leaving 1,250 people homeless - essentially obliterating the neighborhood of Roombeek. Ten thousand residents were evacuated. The damage bill eventually cost exceeded one billion €.^[3]

[edit] Cause

It appeared that the fire began in the work area of the central warehouse where some 900 kg of fireworks were stored. This fire then extended to two full containers that had been stored illegally outside of the building. As the fire department could not contain the initial fire, it then to spread to a third container, which exploded shortly afterward. A chain reaction of explosions eventually led to the ignition of the firework bunker. The fireworks bunker ignition caused the explosion of 177 tons of fireworks^[4], virtually destroying the surrounding residential area. Dutch telephone voting in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was suspended to free up capacity for the emergency services communications, as a mark of respect to the casualties and due to Dutch Television ending transmission of the contest during its running, to show Breaking News coverage.

One theory for the scale of the disaster was that workers had accidentally left open internal doors which might have contained the fire and subsequent blast. Theoretically such an explosion was highly unlikely because the fireworks were stored in bunkers specifically designed to minimise the risk.^[5]

[edit] Legal Proceedings

The cause of the fire has never been officially verified. One possibility was arson, with several arrests being made by the Dutch police but the fire department stated accidental ignition via an electrical short circuit could not be totally ruled out.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2002, the two managers of the company, Rudi Bakker and Willie Pater, were sentenced to fifteen months' imprisonment for violation of environmental and safety regulations and dealing in illegal fireworks. Furthermore they were found guilty of an explosion with deadly consequences due to criminal negligence.

In May 2003 Arnhem Appeals Court overturned the conviction of alleged arsonist, 36 year-old Andre De Vries. Almelo Court had originally tried and convicted de Vries of arson and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. Arnhem Appeals Court ruled there was a lack of evidence, but also ruled De Vries was partly to blame for his extended remand custody as he worked against the investigation and gave demonstrable false statements. The court also found police inflated some evidence to unfairly convict De Vries. In May 2004, the Arnhem Appeals Court awarded 125,000 Euro in damages for false conviction. The prosecution stated it will not appeal the court ruling awarding damages to De Vries. De Vries had always maintained his innocence.^[6]

A total of €8.5m in compensation was awarded to the victims of the Enschede firework factory explosion according to the organisation in charge of distributing the compensation, the UPV having assessed 3,519 claims: 300 people cash for incurring extra costs, 136 people money for loss of income and 1,477 people compensation for health problems.^[7]

[edit] Controversy

The week prior to the explosion, SE had been audited and met all official safety regulations, and the fireworks had been legally imported and inspected as safe by Dutch authorities. Many residents from affected Roombeek—a poor, working class neighborhood—complained of governmental neglect and deliberate non-interest and inaction, arguing the whole disaster was an accident waiting to happen.^[8]

[edit] Dutch fire safety regulations

The SE Fireworks disaster has led to intensified safety regulations in The Netherlands concerning storage and sale of fireworks. The Roombeek area that was destroyed by the blast has since been rebuilt.

[edit] Memorials

There have been annual public memorial services in Roombeek, since 2000 led by the mayor Jan Mans, and commonly ending on the Stroinksbleekweg. The theme of 2004 was "homecoming".^[9]

[edit] Disambiguation

The Dutch firm S.E Fireworks has no relationship or bearing to the US company Spread Eagle Fireworks- the shared name SE Fireworks being a total coincidence

[edit] See also

• 2000 in the Netherlands

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Enschede fireworks disaster

• Video of Enschede explosion
• Another, different, video of the explosion
• In pictures: Firework blaze - BBC News

Coordinates: 52°13′46″N 6°53′44″E / 52.229444°N 6.895556°E / 52.229444; 6.895556