Relative calm prevails as Finns usher in New Year

New Year's Eve celebrations went relatively smoothly around Finland. Police and rescue services were kept busy throughout the night, but major emergencies were averted.
      Officials say that in many places the celebrations were more subdued than usual. For instance, police in Helsinki received about 20 calls fewer than a year ago. Paramedics working for the Helsinki City Rescue Department responded to just over 130 emergency calls, while in previous years the number has sometimes reached 200.
      Fireworks again caused eye injuries; this year, only seven such cases were treated at the Eye Clinic of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District, down from 12 last year, and eight in 2005. Chief physician Tero Kivelä says that the increased use of protective goggles has reduced the number and severity of the injuries.
     
Rain, which prevailed in many places, is a likely factor in keeping the revelry at a low level. However, there were exceptionally many fires in waste bins on Sunday night.
      Minor fires caused by fireworks kept rescue services busy in Oulu, Kuusankoski, Kaarina, Turku, and Ruovesi.
      A small fire caused by a rocket burned part of the roof of a shop in Kuusankoski. In a potentially dangerous incident in Kuopio, injuries were averted when a rocket flew in a horizontal direction through the window of a home, exploding inside. The owners of the apartment were next door at the time.
      A vehicle owned by a Russian tourist suffered serious damage in Imatra. Local police believe that the car was deliberately set on fire, using fireworks.
     
The night's most serious mishap took place in Virrat, where nine people were injured, three of them seriously, in a head-on collision involving two cars.
      In Oulu, a young man was seriously injured in a stabbing on Sunday night, and in Teuva in South Ostrobothnia, a woman was stabbed and seriously injured by her teenage daughter in the early hours of Monday.
     
Road traffic was fairly calm during the night, although there were somewhat more drunk drivers than on a normal Sunday night.
      Police continued to stop motorists who were over the legal limit on Monday morning.


See also:
  Video: Senate Square, early Sunday evening
  Video: Performance for children in Cathedral Crypt
  Video: Performance for children in Cathedral Crypt
  Video: Welcoming in the new year at the Senate Square
  Video: Fireworks at the Market Square in front of the Presidential Palace.