The Enschede fireworks disaster was a catastrophic

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...

on 13 May 2000 in

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The explosion killed 23 people including four

firefighters A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

and injured 950 others. A total of 400 homes were destroyed and 1,500 buildings were subsequently damaged. The first explosion had a strength in the order of , while the strength of the final explosion was in the range of . The biggest blast was felt as far as the city of

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

, away. Fire crews were called in from across the border in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to help battle the blaze; it was brought under control by the end of the day. S.E. Fireworks was a major supplier to

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

and major festive events in the Netherlands. Prior to the disaster it had a good safety record and had passed all safety audits.

Cause

The fire which triggered the explosion is believed to have started inside the central building of the S.E. Fireworks depot, in a work area where some of fireworks were stored. It then spread outside the building to two full

shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated box design, corrugated b ...

s that were being used to illegally store more display incendiaries. When the of fireworks exploded, it destroyed the surrounding residential area.Online ''Oosting zag iets over het hoofd in Enschede''
, NRC Handelsblad, 23 March 2001 One theory to explain the large scale of the disaster was that internal

fire door A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating (sometimes referred to as a ''fire protection rating'' for closures) used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartments of ...

s in the central complex—which might otherwise have contained the fire—had been left open. Theoretically, an explosion was considered highly unlikely because the fireworks were stored in sealed

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s specifically designed to minimize such risk. However, the illegal use of shipping containers reduced safety, particularly as they had been arranged closely together at ground level and had not been separated either by earthworks or other partitioning. One week prior to the explosion, S.E. had been audited. The company was judged to have met all official safety regulations while the legally imported fireworks had been inspected by Dutch authorities and deemed safe. However, after the explosion, residents from the affected district of Roombeek—a poor, working-class neighbourhood—complained of government inaction and lack of interest, saying the whole disaster was just waiting to happen. When it was built in 1977, the

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

was outside the town, but as new residential areas were built it became surrounded by

low-income housing Subsidized housing is a subsidy aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housing". Forms of subsidies include d ...

. Residents and town

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s stated they did not even know that there was a fireworks warehouse in their area. Later in the court case, the judge said that city officials failed to take steps even when they knew laws had been broken. They acted "completely incomprehensibly" by allowing the company to expand, for fear that the city would have to pay the cost of moving S.E. Fireworks to another location.

Damage

A area around the warehouse was destroyed by the blast. The S.E. Fireworks factory was the only one in the Netherlands to be located in a residential area. This caused around 400 houses to be destroyed, 15 streets incinerated and a total of 1,500 homes damaged, leaving 1,250 people

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

, essentially obliterating the neighbourhood of Roombeek. Ten thousand residents were evacuated, and damages eventually neared 1 billion

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...

(€454 million). The Dutch Government warned that potentially harmful

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

was released into the air by the explosion. The fire spread to the nearby Grolsch Beer

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

, which had an asbestos roof. It was later

demolish Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apa ...

ed and closed; a replacement opened nearby in

Boekelo Boekelo () is a village in the municipality of Enschede in the eastern Netherlands, the population is estimated at approximately 2,500. It is located just west of Usselo. The village is known for the Military Boekelo Enschede, an international ...

in 2004.

Death toll

By 22 May 2000, 18 people had been confirmed dead, including an

elderly Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

woman who died from her injuries in a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

on 21 May. On 24 May, the search for victims ended with three people still missing and presumed dead. A 19th victim died from her injuries in a hospital on 19 October 2000. The addition of the three missing people to the death toll brought the total to 22. In 2005, Dutch media reported that a 26-year-old Enschede resident who had died in a local hospital on 2 October 2000 was unofficially being recognized as the 23rd victim of the disaster. Her

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjective for ...

clarified in an interview that while she sustained only minor injuries on the day of the disaster, she appeared to develop an

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...

in the months thereafter, and that her doctor reported a "direct connection" between her death and the disaster without specifying whether or not she became physically ill as a result of the disaster or if illness was a factor in her death.Ziek door de ramp: Latifa overleed maanden na de vuurwerkramp, maar werd slachtoffer nummer 23
(Tubantia, 2005) (republished in 2020) A

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

at the site of the disaster lists her name along with the 22 victims included in the official death toll.

Healthcare impact

In 2005, a survey was published based on the electronic medical records of general practitioners, which compared 9,329 victims with a control sample size of 7,329 units ranging from 16 months before to 2.5 years after the disaster. The study highlighted that "two and a half years post-disaster the prevalence of psychological problems in victims, who had to relocate, was about double and in the non-relocated victims one-third more than controls". Relocated victims showed the highest increase of

medically unexplained physical symptoms Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS or MUS) are symptoms for which a treating physician or other healthcare providers have found no medical cause, or whose cause remains contested. In its strictest sense, the term simply means that the ca ...

(

tiredness Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated with medical conditions ...

headache A headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of Depression (mood), depression in those with severe ...

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...

, and

abdominal pain Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom associated with both non-serious and serious medical issues. Since the abdomen contains most of the body's vital organs, it can be an indicator of a wide variety of diseases. Given th ...

) and of gastrointestinal morbidity.

Legal proceedings

On 20 May, Dutch authorities issued an international

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

for the two managers of the company, Rudi Bakker and Willie Pater, after they fled their homes, which were empty when searched. Pater handed himself in on the same day, and Bakker the day after. In April 2002, the owners were sentenced to six months' imprisonment each for violation of environmental and safety regulations and dealing in illegal fireworks alongside a fine of €2,250 each. However, they were both acquitted of the more serious charges of

negligence Negligence ( Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate care expected to be exercised in similar circumstances. Within the scope of tort law, negligence pertains to harm caused by the violation of a duty of care through a neg ...

for the fire. In May 2003, Arnhem Appeals Court

acquit In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an of ...

ted 36-year-old André de Vries of

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

. Almelo Court had originally (May 2002) tried and convicted De Vries of arson and sentenced him to 15 years

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

.Expatica.com
, accessdate 17 April 2009 In February 2005, after a four-and-a-half-year legal battle, the six-month sentence of each of the owners was increased to twelve months each. A total of €8.5m in compensation was awarded to the victims of the explosion, according to the organisation in charge of distributing the compensation, the UPV, having assessed 3,519 claims. Three hundred people received cash for incurring extra costs, 136 people received money for loss of income, and 1,477 people received compensation for health problems.

Dutch fire safety regulations

The S.E. Fireworks disaster led to intensified safety regulations in the Netherlands concerning the storage and sale of fireworks. The Roombeek area that was destroyed by the blast has since been rebuilt. Since the catastrophe, three illegal fireworks depots were closed down in the Netherlands.

Memorials

There have been annual public memorial services in Roombeek since 2000 led by the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Jan Mans, and commonly ending on the Stroinksbleekweg. The theme of 2004 was "homecoming". In 2005 a memorial was unveiled at the site of the disaster, titled 'Het verdwenen huis tussen hemel en aarde' (The vanished house between heaven and earth) by Moldavian artist Pavel Balta. Part of the memorial consists of the floor of the former storage depot, crushed into the crater created by the explosion.

In popular culture

The events of the disaster served as the inspiration of the mission "Explosion in fireworks factory" from '' Emergency 4: Global Fighters for Life''.As explained by series creator Ralph Stock in his Emergency 20 backstage videos

Notes

References

External links

In pictures: Firework blaze
– BBC News
Satellite Map Imagery
– Google Maps {{DEFAULTSORT:Enschede Fireworks Disaster 2000 disasters in the Netherlands 2000 fires in Europe 2000 in the Netherlands 2000 industrial disasters Building and structure fires in the Netherlands Events in Enschede Explosions in 2000 Explosions in the Netherlands Fireworks accidents and incidents History of Overijssel Industrial fires and explosions May 2000 in Europe Warehouse fires