PELHAM, N.H. — A 2-year-old boy and an 8-month-old girl remained hospitalized for burns Wednesday after a large supply of fireworks exploded during a Fourth of July celebration here, engulfing the back deck of a home in flames.
Eleven people, including five children, were injured in the blast, which according to a relative ignited when a wayward firework accidentally struck the main supply. The detonation shook the neighborhood Tuesday evening and sent a fireball high into the air, neighbors and relatives said.
“The whole thing went off like a bomb,” said Skip Harrington, whose 2-year-old great-grandson sustained serious burns in the fire.
Harrington said the toddler, Ben, was near the fireworks when they exploded and was “completely engulfed in flames.” His mother, Jessica Bertini, rushed through the flames to rescue him, he said.
Ben was put into an induced coma Wednesday as doctors treated his burns, Harrington said. One firework lodged in his arm, and doctors told the family he would probably be hospitalized for at least a month, Harrington said.
The family is “just devastated,” he said. “He’s the nicest little boy.”
--more--"
