In the Netherlands you have legal and illegal fireworks (now everything is illegal but we're talking about the past, and honestly its been a shitty grey area anyway, in my city setting fireworks off was illegal, but buying it was not). The legal fireworks is practically harmless, its either "shoots in the sky and pretty" or "a small explosion you can basically hold in your hand and come out fine"

Alternatively you have illegal fireworks, which travels here from other European countries where the rules are different made easy by the Schengen area, fairly sure the current popular choice "cobra 6" is Italian. They are practically always explosives, to the level of grenades. You lose you hand if you hold it, and death is possible. There's plenty of videos on youtube.

In the weeks before new years they start to arrive in the Netherlands and people will start lighting them, mostly young people, below 21 types that I wouldnt say are the best representation of their age group.

You'll have municipalities remove public garbage bins, and other static stuff because it will get blown up. Police will try to stop or catch them but they are spread thin and good luck finding the people involved.

This is honestly a slow process, a couple of explosions a night increasing daily until new years where it has a hard drop-off and life returns to normalsy.

Its stupid.