E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSPELHAM, N.H. -- Nine people, including two children, were injured when fireworks exploded at a home on Tuesday evening.
Neighbors say they heard an explosion and saw a fireball light the night sky.
"I just heard an explosion. It sounded like fireworks -- a big supply of them blew up," said Peter Catanzano, a neighbor.
"It was a big, orange mushroom cloud. That's what it looked like," said Taylor Jackson, a neighbor.
NYT: Fire fears curb some 4th of July displays
'Stretchers on the front lawn'
Medical crews rushed to the scene and helicopters took the most severely injured, including two young children, to the hospital.
"There were so many ambulances and fire trucks and cop cars everywhere, people running around,” Jackson said. “There were stretchers on the front lawn for people that got hurt."
Read more news stories from NBC station WHDH
Neighbors say the Dodge Road fireworks display is an annual tradition, but for some the fireworks, usually kept under the deck, ignited.
"Somehow this whole bunch of fireworks exploded and the porch is gone, and a portion of the side of the house," said Barbara Catanzano, a neighbor.
Among those rushed to the hospital was one of the homeowner’s adult children, a firefighter.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Kids cross border alone, fleeing drugs and games
- Fire evacuation sparks panicked pet exodus
- Inmate serving life sentence won't be charged in killing of another prisoner
- Independence Day irony: PTSD has many vets dreading, avoiding fireworks
- Could you pass the US citizenship test?
- T-shirt fundraiser for wildfire relief takes off
- Video: Casino seeks machine gun range
- The doctor will see you now, for $5
Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
"...one of the homeowner’s adult children, a firefighter." whose words on the litter were,"Damn."
Ive have watched some preety ignorant people play with fireworks like its a toy and then let there kids play with the fireworks like it was a toy, and then cry wolf when the fireworks backfire and burn there child, instead of showing them how to properly handle something that is potentally dangerous, a large amount of fireworks under the porch not smart on the adult side. There lucky no one was killed.
Yep, probably rethinking that whole "we're the awesome folks in the neighborhood that always have the greatest amateur display" thing now. Wonder how many of those neighbors they dazzled all those years with their egotistical bravado are willing to step up and help with the damage now..........("chirp, chirp" go the crickets)..........Well, life's a lesson.
Fireworks are about fun and celebration for most people. Lots of streets in NH pool money together to do a kind of fireworks "block party." As always there are some who do dumb things and pay the price, but for the most part it's good, safe fun and no one is hurt.
NC, you seem pretty sour about the whole thing. I feel sorry for you.
Whew! Good thing there was a firefighter on hand;-)
Does this mean the BBQ is off?
People are always unsafe, saying Ooops, that never happened before. At the very least they should have kept a cloth tarp over the unused fireworks. As soon as you say there is no way a spark can get way over here, then it actually happens.
BP the grape: My thoughts exactly. May as well be smoking next next to the powder room....
Even so, hope everyone pulls through - especially the littles. They didn't deserve this.
Yeah, I am sour. Sour that children, once again, are paying for the adults' actions.....
Hum, I wonder if we will continue to be one of the Firefighters.....
I'm sorry for the family's troubles, no matter what the reason. They were just preparing to celebrate America's birthday, but I remember we had modest fireworks when I was a kid; sparklers, ladyfingers, maybe a roman candle or two, nothing that would take off the back of a house.
I wonder how many of their neighbors soiled themselves?
safety is the part of the plan that starts before the party. Wishing for a speedy recovery for the injured.
Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm .... must have been a "terrorist" involved .................... call "Homeland Security" ..........
I know you say that in jest, but I would not be at all surprised if Homeland Securtiy doesn't get involved.
Where's your planet Tamborine?
Where's our country Steve?
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that you don't store a large cache of explosives under a porch. Moisture can make them unstable.
Mmm-hmm; so can beer...
Shoot, they're not home yet. I'll just sit here on their porch and smoke a cigarette.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2mqqCMu-LM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsTRxXvQY0s
I want to watch the video ,but I refuse to watch or play the commercial before it. Oh well guess i dont get to see it.
You can't fix stupid.
No you can't...best to just blow it up!!
You might be a redneck if..........
It's nice to see MSNBC is keeping it's tradition of bad grammar alive and well.
Educated by liberal union member teachers, no doubt.
Yet another annoying attempt to turn each and every article into lib/con, Dem/Rep stupidity. If you were going for witty, you failed.
You saw it too? I read it 4 times and gave up!!!
Nothing political, simply bad grammar.
But you do keep harping on it now, don't you? Stop clicking on the links if it bothers you so much. I read that and then mentally inserted the word (reason) into the sentence.
Tiredvoter -
Ya hafta do that with these "journalists" on a regular basis. Do they ever read what they post?
Mental picture here, Joe Dirt, Tap Out tee shirt (or soiled "wife beater"), can of beer in one hand, lit cigar in the other, "Hey guys, watch this!"
In N.H.??? (Blue nosed Yankee-land?) They wear a clean wife beater!
You've never been there, have you?
A. nonymous-2737997 is a an extreme right-wing nazi
Meaning s/he's a narrow minded, hateful, jealous, regressive who feels threatened by anyone who thinks differently. The biggest problem with a Nazi is the intolerance of others, the anti-thesis of the American way.
I'm finding your comments disturbing since ... if you were from the area...you would know that children as young as 3 years old are in serious condition with severe burns from this accident. The adults involved did not use good judgement as to where to store the fireworks, but maybe instead of snide comments you could be saying prayers for the young victims!
Well said, D from NH. I hope those children recover and the adults learn their lesson about proper storage.
Well train your barbs at me!!! They should have prayed for guidance before they went out and purchased these war making products. Praying after the facts is reactive rather than proactive. Sorry for anyone's pain, but they don't need prayer they need common sense. Now, here is a basket of rotten eggs! Flay away!!!
A he-- of a lot of good prayers do against stupid! I'm sure the gods are busy with more important things...like fund raising and the spread of guilt!!!
OK, charles, I'll play along. It is hot and dry here in northern VA, so I was going to forego the fireworks - but now that I see they are classified as "war making products," I think I'll run right out and stock up!
What is gunpowder? What goes into fire crackers? If they ignite and explode in the air then they are explosives.
This kind of stuff happens to Wile E. Coyote all the time. The time to learn about proper handling of explosives is BEFORE the accident.
Guess stockpiling them under the porch is not a good idea.
Be Careful! People! Be Safe and have FUN! Happy 4th!
Try as you might, you simply can not make life Stupid Proof.
Wow....glad I moved away from Moo Hampshire!! (Yeah, I know....so is everyone else....)
Backwoods and not too bright out there.....
Pelham is not "backwoods" ... it sits on the Mass-border and overrun with arrogant flatlanders.
I love the 4th, can't wait for the next 300 stories like this.
Yep, every year some people think they are above both the laws of their counties and the laws of physics. As a PP noted, when we were kids there were sparklers, black cats, firecrackers and maybe a few bottle rockets for the daring. Now, people can get ahold of professional grade explosives at Wal-Mart (at least at our's they can.). I suppose if you're an adult and think drinking all day and lighting rockets is a good idea, good on ya...but leave your neighborhoods and children OUT OF IT! We don't want the fires, danger and sirens all night. I love to celebrate the 4th watching fireworks, but I will go to the one's that are put on locally by a professional organization that practices safety, not one of my neighbors. Tonight, I'm already planning to douse the house with water just to make sure when the spent casing land on my roof (like they always do), I won't lose my home in celebration!
Florida native? That makes you what? A Floridiot?
Ah, New Hampshire, the state of my youth, the "live free or die" state where you can pull off the highway, go into a store, grab a shopping cart, and fill it up with beer, guns, cigarettes and fireworks, in a convenient one stop shopping spree. Stuff there for the kiddies too! Few people in that state apparently want expanded health care coverage though. Damn government "interference" in the lives of people who boldly forge their own destinies...
Yup, then you strap it on the back of your motorcycle and drive off helmetless into oblivion. Live free or die, indeed.
what do you prefer, a place like New York City where you need a marathon-running idiot mayor's permission to buy a soda???
I have proof that marathoners are nuts: these days if I needed to travel 26 miles to tell my commander "hey we won!" I'd use the radio or take a jeep ;)
I'm sure that the majority of the fireworks comes from where.... China!! And of recent years everyone is crying about how inferior and harmful Chinese products are, so do you think the fireworks from China are any safer than the toys, infant milk, or other items coming from that country are? BTW, I'm unsure of the temps in NH but with many areas reporting triple digits do you really think it's safe to store essentially explosives under a porch? I hope everyone recovers but as many have said already, you can't fix stupid!
The get lit, they blow up. Nothing defective there except the idiot(s) who improperly stored them.
Stupidity is running rampant. Something in the water? Common sense I hope will come back in fashion? However I seriously doubt it.
what is that old saying? oh yeah STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES. this is new hampshire not know to be the home of the intelligent.
I agree with you! And that's where Romney spend much of his time.....just say'in
Your comment is stupid. New Hampshire has plenty of intelligent folks. I wouldn't vote for Romney but he ain't stupid; you don't get as far in life as Mr. Romney without brains.
Boomer, I love it when someone attempts to demonstrate the stupidity of others by posting something that is grammatically the level of a four year old.
Will people ever figure out that fireworks are not only dangerous but annoying to neighbors and terrifying to animals? Hate the darn things.
I love it when the neighbors set them off.
Failed to read the instructions properly? Light this end.......
WHY DON'T people leave the fireworks to the people who know what the heck they are doing? a lesson learned i hope, prayers going out to those who got hurt hope for a full recovery
What makes these Republican TeaBilly's so Evil and Violent? Is it da Sarah Palin Books?
Any word from the NRA?
Mitt is about as Real as a Plastic Bananna!
Is it Mitt ____________Romney?
“Country Club”
“Middle Class Warfare”
“Not To Much..Out of Touch”
“Cheap Labor is Our Future”
“Outsourcing is Awesome”
“Profits Over People”
“Corporations are People Too”
“F da Poor”
“Let Detroit go Bankrupt”
“Pray da Gay Away”
Mitt Romney’s Solution to all Problems…….Prayer and a Moment of Silence.
Don't you get tired of posting this on every thread?
Shut Up!
Maybe this People just got done reading a “Sarah Palin” book….became Confused, Irrational and Lost their Minds. It seems to be a “Side Effect”.
You BetCha….Fer Sure.
Your political pandering is just as lame and pathetic as the right wings'. Get a life!
Again facts- SHUT UP!
This proves an idiot can actually figure out how to access the internet.