Holiday Fireworks Show Accidents Kill Two; Three Dozen Are Injured

Accidents during Fourth of July fireworks displays Friday night killed two people and injured more than three dozen others, including 30 who suffered minor burns and cuts when a rocket went astray and sailed into the stands at a show in a Newark, N.J., stadium.

An antique cannon exploded at the home of a Milford, N.H., town official, showering shrapnel that hurt five people.

A rocket misfired during a fireworks show in Madison, Wis., killing an employee of a company putting on the display, police said.

Show Is Canceled

The accident came about midway during the show, which drew about 15,000 people to Elver Park, and the rest of the display was canceled.

In Edgewater, Fla., George Kennedy, the city’s fire chief was killed by an errant sky rocket while he was overseeing a July Fourth fireworks display, police said.

In Rockport, Tex., fireworks exploded on the ground at an informal show on a beach, injuring seven people, two of them seriously.

Mostly Minor Burns

The injuries in the Fourth of July accident at Newark’s Ironbound Stadium were mostly minor burns and cuts, according to hospital officials.

“One of the rockets went haywire or something,” according to a Newark police dispatcher. “It went right into the stands.”

About eight ambulances were sent to the holiday fireworks show east of downtown, said police Lt. Joseph Pandolfo. He didn’t know how many people attended the display.

Hurls Shrapnel

The cannon explosion occurred during a barbecue at the home of Milford, N.H., town moderator Robert Philbrick. Former town selectman William English was lighting the black-powder cannon when it exploded, hurling shrapnel hundreds of feet.

English was in fair condition at St. Joseph Hospital with leg injuries, while another guest, also in fair condition, suffered abdominal injuries. One other adult was hospitalized and two were treated and released.

Shrapnel penetrated the wall of a home 300 feet away, police said.