For hairdresser Johan Pelkmans (73) from Baarle-Hertog, his house no longer feels like a safe place. In the Klokkenstraat, in the middle of the Belgian enclave in Baarle-Nassau, he lives a short distance between two fireworks shops. 150 kilos of powder are stored in both. “It’s like sleeping between two ticking time bombs every night.”
Johan was born and raised in Baarle-Hertog, the unique border village where Belgium and the Netherlands intersect. His house has been there for decades, but the fireworks stores (Loots and Zena) came later. “There is a fireworks bunker at the front of my house, about forty meters away. And at the back, less than twenty meters away, there is another one. I am literally in between.”
According to the permits, each store may store a maximum of 150 kilos of powder. “That doesn’t seem like much,” says Johan, who has Dutch nationality, “but when you see what happened in Enschede years ago, you know that it doesn’t take much to blow everything away here.”
“Who wants to buy a house between two fireworks bunkers?”
Johan wasn’t that concerned for years. Until he gets the report ‘Learning from two fireworks disasters’ of the University of Twente read. “That’s when I really realized what can happen here. That report states that even limited amounts of fireworks, under the wrong circumstances, can cause enormous damage. Since then I’ve been sleeping restlessly. It won’t let you go.”
Moving doesn’t seem like an option. “I was born here in this village and I built my hairdressing business here,” says Johan. “But who wants to buy a house between two fireworks bunkers? Nobody! It’s unsellable. And to be honest, I don’t really want to leave either. Why do I have to leave? They don’t belong here in a residential area.”
Johan is actually retired, but still cuts a few customers every day. According to him, his business is suffering from fireworks sales in his area. “In December, when it should be busy, I lose customers. The street is full of cars from fireworks customers. There is no parking space, there is trash everywhere and there is smoke. People prefer not to come and the month in which I normally earn the most is now the quietest.”
“You notice that people in the village get into fights about it.”
It’s not just Johan who is worried. “More and more residents believe that it is outdated to allow fireworks storage in a residential area. That belongs on an industrial estate,” he says decisively.
The municipality has been trying to do something for years, but the shops remain open as long as the procedures regarding their permits are ongoing. “That causes frustration and division,” Johan notes. “In the past, only our street was affected by it, but now it is spreading. You notice that people in the village are getting into fights about it.”
Johan gets along well with the fireworks dealers, but he still hopes that they will stop trading near his house. “I want to grow old here, but the idea that one spark is enough to make everything explode,” he pauses. “It’s my home. But between two ticking time bombs.”