IN MAP: Where can you set off fireworks on New Year’s Eve?

This is the conclusion of a survey by Oscare, an aftercare and research center for burns and scars. “It’s like you need a driver’s license to drive a car all year round, and not on New Year’s Eve,” says spokesman Peter Van Rossum. On the map below from Oscare you can see where it is allowed or not. In some orange-colored municipalities, the mayor systematically does not give permission. This is the case, for example, in Jabbeke and Ichtegem.

“We think the reason why so many municipalities still allow fireworks in West Flanders is because there are so many rural municipalities. Everyone lives further apart and therefore I think it is more often possible,” says Peter van Rossum.

In East Flanders, only 56% of the municipalities allow it, in Antwerp 56.5%, in Flemish Brabant 38%, in Limburg 62%. West Flanders takes the cake with 78%. In our provincial capital, Bruges, residents are allowed to shoot fireworks without a permit during New Year’s Eve, despite a general ban on fireworks.

However, a small survey by the aftercare and research center shows that more than seven out of ten of the adult respondents are not in favor of private individuals shooting fireworks.