COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Two explosions at a home in Colorado Springs Thursday night may have been caused by homemade fireworks, according to Colorado Springs Police officers.
Though officers have not confirmed fireworks are to blame, they said they did find items to make explosives in the home in the 700 block of East Vermijo Avenue during a sweep. A number of nearby homes were evacuated Friday morning but homeowners are now able to return. The scene has been shutdown until Saturday , when explosive material is expected to be removed.
"Fireworks are one thing but this is something very serious and the amount that he has is very serious. We don't know how great the destruction could be," Barbara Miller, spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs Police Department said.
Officers also arrested the only person who lives there, 57-year-old Edward Kiley. Kiley is facing charges of unlawful possession and use of an explosive device.
A neighbor called in the first explosion Thursday evening. The woman told officers it rattled windows in her house and left a cloud of smoke about 30 feet high. The second explosion happened when officers arrived.
"We've kinda been hearing it for several weeks, there'd be a boom or a bang or an explosion and we didn't know if it was a gun shot or a car back firing," Ernestine Martinez, a neighbor, said.
Originally officers thought a methamphetamine lab was to blame, but they have since said that is likely not the case.
Kiley's bond is $250,000.
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