PELHAM – Edmund Gleason saw firsthand how dangerous fireworks can be when an explosion burned his grandson and injured 11 other people on the eve of Independence Day.

Gleason shared that experience with lawmakers Tuesday, when he was among the people who testified at a hearing concerning a bill to ban the type of “consumer fireworks” – which are sold for private use rather than public displays – that caused the explosion at a Pelham home.

Three days after the hearing, state and local officials issued a preliminary report that deemed the cause of the explosion an accident, although the Hillsborough County Attorney, Pelham police and the state fire marshal haven’t closed their investigation.

A common commercial firework that was ignited on an open deck accidentally landed on an open bag of mortar shells, triggering an explosion that injured a family gathered for a pre-July 4 celebration, according to the preliminary report.

Gleason said his grandson, who was 18 months at the time, has recovered from his injuries.

But other family members still require medical treatment for skin grafts and other injuries, and the psychological effects may last a lifetime, said Rep. Brian Rhodes, D-Nashua, co-sponsor of the proposed legislation to ban the fireworks.

“The injuries the people received there were catastrophic,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes is a deputy fire chief in Nashua, but he stressed his involvement with the bill was only as a state representative and not related to his job.

State Fire Marshal J. William Degnan, Pelham Fire Chief James Midgley and Pelham Police Chief Joseph Roark released information Friday from an investigation of the 40 Dodge Road fireworks explosion on July 3.

Investigators concluded the incident was an accident.

The overall case remains under investigation by the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office, the Pelham Police Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

According to the information released Friday, the consumer fireworks involved were unpackaged, reloadable mortar shells. About 344 shells were placed on an open deck at the back of the home, the investigation determined.

Thirteen people injured in the explosion were either on the 14- by 14-foot deck or on an adjacent three-season porch, according to the report.

The explosion occurred after a firework device, identified by witnesses as an aerial spinner, had been ignited on the deck and unintentionally landed in the pile of exposed reloadable mortar shells, the investigation found.

The incident taxed the resources of the Pelham Fire and Police departments and surrounding communities, as the injured were transported from the scene by ambulance and medical helicopter to hospitals in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to the investigation.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported in its 2011 Annual Fireworks Report, released in June 2012, that there were 900 injuries nationwide resulting from reloadable mortar aerial shells.

The head, face, hands and fingers are the areas of the body most commonly injured.

Four people from the Pelham explosion testified at the hearing for the bill, which is before the Criminal Justice and Public
Safety Committee, Rhodes said.

One family member submitted written testimony, Rhodes said. Also testifying was an Amherst resident whose 11-year-old son was blinded in one eye by an accident in Maine with fireworks purchased in New Hampshire, Rhodes said.

The bill’s primary sponsor is Charlene Takesian, R-Pelham.

This bill prohibits the retail sale of helicopters, aerial spinners, reloadable aerial shells and parachute aerial devices.

The bill also establishes a violation for permissible fireworks retailers who fail to distribute required safety information to the purchaser.

When the Legislature legalized consumer fireworks in 2011, a serious injury occurred within 20 days, Rhodes said.

There were also 15 reported injuries within 18 months, Rhodes said.

“There may have been more,” he said. “We don’t have mandatory reporting on burn injuries in New Hampshire.”

The aerial spinners that ignited the explosion, according to the report, don’t move in a predictable pattern, making them dangerous, Rhodes said.

“Once they are lit and they do what they’re going to do, they’re very unpredictable,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes said safety was his only concern in co-
sponsoring the bill.

Fireworks are set off for entertainment, and entertainment by definition means people are present, he said.

“I’m not looking to curb small business in New Hampshire,” Rhodes said. “I’m not looking to take money out of people’s pockets. … I’m not trying to be the ‘fun police.’?”

Patrick Meighan can be reached at 594-6518 or pmeighan@nashua
telegraph.com. Also, follow Meighan on Twitter (@Telegraph_PatM.)