Fires, injuries as rogue fireworks incidents explode during Melbourne’s NYE celebrations

Rogue fireworks caused chaos during New Year’s Eve celebrations and machete violence erupted on a famous dining strip, as hundreds of police patrolled the streets during a night of relative civility in Melbourne.

The Universal Restaurant in Lygon Street, Carlton, was cordoned off by police tape in the early hours of New Year’s Day after panicked revellers called Triple Zero to report a stabbing about 30 minutes before midnight.

A group of up to seven males armed with machetes and knives attacked two men outside a restaurant, stabbing them in the chest.

The 18-year-old NSW man and a 20-year-old man from Heidelberg West in Melbourne’s north-east were taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in critical conditions. The attackers fled in vehicles before police arrived about 11.45pm.

Melbourne crime investigation unit detectives are investigating whether the attack was targeted. Both men were in a stable condition as of Thursday afternoon.

Police praised the overall behaviour of the hundreds of thousands of people who gathered in Melbourne’s CBD to ring in the New Year.

“Overwhelmingly, we saw great behaviour by crowds overnight, with people heeding our advice to celebrate safely and responsibly,” New Year’s Eve state policing commander Belinda Jones said.

“There was a small number of people who took it too far and chose to do the wrong thing. All reported incidents were resolved quickly, ensuring no disruption to the wider community.”

Early birds gathered at St Kilda beach on Thursday morning to start the year with a flow yoga session, while others sprawled on the sand, which was pristine after an overnight clean-up.

Acting Premier Ben Carroll said the vast majority of Victorians welcomed in 2026 with good behaviour “but there were some incidents of crime, and that will be dealt with appropriately by Victoria Police”.

Carroll said the use of illegal fireworks was dangerous, and promised to support emergency services to stamp out the illicit market.

Fireworks spark rooftop blaze

Fireworks ignited a garden bed on the roof at 1 Treasury Place in East Melbourne on Wednesday night, with flames visible from nearby buildings after the 9.30pm fireworks display in the CBD. The building houses the office of Premier Jacinta Allan and other key state government departments.

Police said there was minimal property damage, and no one was injured in the blaze. It was one of 313 fireworks-related incidents reported overnight, some of which resulted in serious injuries.

A 31-year-old man from Mickleham in Melbourne’s north was hospitalised with serious facial injuries after fireworks went awry, and another man – a 43-year-old from Corio in Geelong – was hospitalised with a serious finger injury, police said.

At the Dromana Drive-In on the Mornington Peninsula, tightly packed New Year’s Eve revellers watched as a grassfire ignited by fireworks sent up tall orange flames and large plumes of smoke metres behind movie screens.

On the Great Ocean Road, police questioned a 16-year-old boy in Lorne after a flare was set off in the middle of crowds during the planned 9.30pm fireworks.

Officers said it was disappointing that people across the state had taken risks with illegal and dangerous fireworks.

Officers arrested 18 people overnight for various offences including assaults, driving and property offences, and detected two drink-drivers who were about double the blood alcohol limit – in Sorrento, one blew 0.123. Another blew 0.90 in Altona. A second driver in Sorrento blew 0.78.

Police also detected two drug-affected drivers: one from Altona, and another from Cape Woolamai on Phillip Island.

Ambulance Victoria described this New Year’s Eve as among the busiest in recent memory, and said the caseload for paramedics in Melbourne between midnight and 2am was 150 per cent higher than in previous years.

Paramedics were called to more than 80 emergencies in Melbourne’s CBD and surrounds. They treated 62 patients, and took 33 patients to hospital.

In Geelong and the wider Barwon region, the caseload for paramedics was up by 300 per cent.

Ambulance Victoria chief executive Jordan Emery said fireworks-related injuries, stabbings and serious assaults were among the emergencies to which paramedics responded.

People who used illegal fireworks had suffered a potential loss of vision, as well as “lifelong disfigurement or scarring”, he said.

The spate of violent attacks against paramedics continued on New Year’s Eve, as one crew was forced to run from a person charging towards them in Dandenong, and another person threatened to kill paramedics in Ballarat.

“This was a much busier night than previous years, and our teams worked exceptionally hard under sustained pressure to ensure patients received timely and appropriate care,” Emery said.

About 500 police were rostered on in central Melbourne to patrol celebrations. They were among a total of more than 2300 officers on duty on the night.

Police had powers to search anyone for weapons in Melbourne’s CBD, St Kilda and Geelong under “designated area” rules, and found one 17-year-old boy at Flinders Street Station with an angle grinder, balaclava, gloves and other items suspected to be used for breaking and entering.

The teenager was charged and bailed to appear in a children’s court at a later date.

Three attackers set upon a 15-year-old boy on Southbank Promenade in the early hours of New Year’s Day. The boy was punched in the face and lost a tooth.

In another incident, a police helicopter and highway patrol unit chased down a hooning car in Melbourne’s south-west, ultimately thwarting the 15-year-old, 23-year-old and 26-year-old occupants with stop sticks at Williams Landing.

Police urged anyone with information about incidents on New Year’s Eve to contact Crime Stoppers.

With Angus Delaney

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