New Year's Eve in Cologne: Attacks on rescue workers shock the city!

During New Year's Eve, there were several attacks on emergency services and police officers in Cologne. These incidents were confirmed by a police spokeswoman at around 2 a.m. on New Year's morning. The emergency services had been alerted to fight a fire when they were attacked on Kölnberg and Porz with fireworks. The use in Porz is currently still running, so no precise information about the events could be given.

A police officer suffered minor injuries in the attacks. So far, information about other possible injuries has not been known. Apart from the incidents on the Kölnberg, there were also attacks at the Görlitz center in Bocklemünd and on the rings. Two civil servants suffered minor injuries in these missions, while a police officer was no longer able to work after being deployed at the Görlitz center. The reports on a greater commitment on Zülpicher Straße are particularly worrying, where two people were shot at with firecrackers; The severity of their injuries is currently unclear.

repeated attacks on emergency services

In the entire city, “New Year's Eve operations” were recorded, including fights and attacks with fireworks on people. While an assignment on Kölnberg is running for a house fire, a DPA photographer reported of an incident in which a man thrown and insulted police officers with a bottle of glass. This was arrested by the emergency services.

The attacks on emergency services on New Year's Eve are not an isolated case. So there were massive riots against the fire brigade and the police for New Year's Eve 2022. The author Finn Bachmann, himself a volunteer firefighter, expresses concerns about the security and future of volunteering in the rescue system. The New Year's Eve is predictable for the firefighters, but the incidents in which emergency services were attracted to accuracy and fired up with fireworks throw a disturbing light on respect for these people.

It is required that attacks on emergency services are punished with the full hardness of the law. While firefighters are equipped with protective clothing and breathing protection, they are not prepared for such attacks. The majority of the firefighters in Germany consists of volunteers. Statistics on the reasons for exit from firefighters are missing, but the risk of attacks could reduce their attractiveness. In order to ensure the safety of the emergency services, it is required that the handling of fireworks will be left to the professionals.