Firefighters and police raced to the scene of a major fire in a church in Amsterdam less than an hour after revellers ushered in the turn of the New Year, with authorities at the scene concerned the entire building could collapse. A massive fire was also raging in a fireworks sales point in Hillegom, as New Year's celebrations turned into emergencies in many parts of the Netherlands. An NL-Alert was issued there, as well as in Bedum, Groningen, where asbestos was released into the air after a gymnasium was engulfed in flames.