Sparks definitely flew, but they came from handheld angle grinders the Park City Fire Service District Station 38 used to dismantle children’s car seats Thursday.
The firefighters have been doing this as a service to the community for the past five years, and do it once in the spring and once in the fall.
Battalion Chief Steve Zwirn and five members of the fire department volunteered and Recycle Utah also pitched in. It took about an hour and a half to dismantle approximately 100 seats during the firefighters lunch hour.
"It’s a service," Zwirn said. "(The recycling center) paid for lunch, too."
The 100 dismantled seats will be compacted, recycled and prevented from entering landfills. The components are typically metal, plastic and fabrics that are then sorted out and recycled.
Expiration dates on most children’s car seats are about six years, after they are manufactured and after that time, they’re technically not allowed to be used within an operating car.