In brief: Fireworks blamed for house blaze

Pelham, N.H. – A fireworks explosion likely inside a home set it ablaze Tuesday night and filled it with smoke, injuring at least nine people, police said.

When police officers and firefighters arrived at the home around 7:30 p.m., there were lots of fireworks in and around it, the police department said. The initial report was fireworks had blown up in the home, police said.

Firefighters put out the blaze.

The nine injured people ranged in age from infant to adult. Two children were taken to Boston hospitals for treatment.

Neighbor Richard Souza, who lives on a street behind the home in Pelham, a town of about 13,000 residents an hour drive south of Concord, said the people who live in the home set off fireworks every year for July Fourth.

Bryson won’t face criminal charges

Los Angeles – Prosecutors declined Tuesday to file criminal charges against former U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson, saying a seizure caused a bizarre series of traffic collisions that led to his resignation.

Bryson’s Lexus struck a car on June 9 that was stopped for a train in San Gabriel. He spoke briefly with the three occupants then hit the car again as he departed, police said. Bryson then rammed another vehicle in a neighboring city a few minutes later. He was found unconscious in his vehicle.

The Commerce Department said at the time that Bryson had a “limited recall of the events” and had not suffered any previous seizures.

Bryson, 68, was cited by police for felony hit-and run, and tests revealed he didn’t have any alcohol or drugs in his system. Low amounts of Ambien were found in his bloodstream, but investigators couldn’t determine if the sleep aid was a factor in the collisions.