What happens to confiscated fireworks?

During the Fourth of July, hundreds of fireworks were confiscated by the Colorado Springs Police and Fire departments in an effort to crack down on them.

Last Thursday, two large piles of fireworks were on display at Fire Station #1 and CSPD Headquarters. The heap represented the significant amount of seized fireworks that were bought to light up neighborhoods around Colorado Springs.

So what happens to those colorful explosives once police have them? Their final destination is not so bright.

“We do this several times a year to dispose of all the fireworks that have been collected or turned in voluntarily,” said Sgt. Chris Arseneau with the CSPD Bomb Squad.

The fireworks were put in plastic bags and then placed in an old, rusty, light blue dumpster at the El Paso County Household Hazardous Waste Facility in east Colorado Springs.

“We separated them, we have to go through each piece and make sure we know what we’re looking at,” Arseneau said.

The destruction process isn’t the kind you would see in a Hollywood movie explosion. All you can really see are some flames, sparks, and really thick gray smoke.

According to the Bomb Squad, it’s the safest and method.

The process is anticlimactic but police hope this end result will stop people from wasting their money next time around.