The sky lanterns are for sale on various websites, and are often used at weddings, for example. However, the lanterns are actually prohibited throughout Germany for fire safety reasons. But not all of those who sell the lanterns online inform customers of the ban. Even the family who is believed to be responsible for the fire in Krefeld stated that they had not seen any indication of the ban on the internet. In 2009, a ten-year-old boy died in Siegen because a sky lantern caused a house fire. A 23-year-old neighbor had launched the sky lantern. After this incident, German states decided to ban the sky lanterns.

In NRW, the ban has been in effect since 2009. In the court case against the 23-year-old, a fire expert at the time said that a sky lantern was used to send an uncontrolled open fire into the air. The paper cover could catch fire at any time: "Then they fall down as burning torches. This is a real hellfire," said the expert. The lanterns usually consist of thin paper and a candle or container with fuel paste in the middle. Through the fire, the balloon rises up to several hundred meters in the air, similar to a hot-air balloon. The origin of the lanterns is in Asia. When asked, the Cologne police reported that no fires caused by such a lantern have been reported in Cologne and Leverkusen in recent years.

According to authorities, no cases are known in the Rhein-Sieg district either. This was also confirmed by the German Fire Brigade Association, which expressly supports the ban on "uncontrollable illuminants". After the fire in Krefeld, the department store chain Real announced that it would be removing sky lanterns from its online assortment that had previously been available there via third-party suppliers.

The company's press spokesman, Markus Jablonski, explained that in Germany there is a difference between what one is legally allowed to sell and how sellers are allowed to use the purchased items according to the regulations.

Orig. text: Sarah Herpertz

Translation: ck