One of Denmark's costliest industrial accidents, destroying hundreds of homes and displacing 2,000 residents after a fireworks warehouse exploded in Kolding.
Key Facts
- Deaths
- 1 firefighter killed
- Injured
- 24 (rescue team and locals) people
- Smoke inhalation treated
- 69 rescuers, police, and agency staff people
- Buildings damaged
- 2,107 buildings
- Houses rendered uninhabitable
- 176 houses
- Estimated damage cost
- 100 million EUR
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Two employees inside a storage container accidentally dropped a box of fireworks, igniting them. The resulting fire spread beyond control before arriving firefighters could contain it. The warehouse held 284 net tons of fireworks at the time, near its legal storage limit of 300 tons.
On 3 November 2004, the N. P. Johnsens Fyrværkerifabrik fireworks warehouse in Seest, a suburb of Kolding, Denmark, exploded in a series of violent blasts. One firefighter died, 24 others were injured, and 2,000 nearby residents were evacuated as the fire rapidly overwhelmed emergency responders.
The explosion damaged 2,107 buildings, left 176 houses uninhabitable, and caused an estimated €100 million in damage. An investigation ultimately found the company not legally responsible, attributing the disaster to an accidental ignition. The event prompted renewed scrutiny of fireworks storage regulations in Denmark.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 1 (fire)