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GREENSBORO — First, a length of explosive detonation cord burned through a piece of plywood. A minute later, a pound of C-4 plastic explosive threw dirt yards into the air. Another minute passed and a pound of dynamite exploded, then a pound of ammonium nitrate fuel oil explosive, then a pipe bomb.

Then the car got it. A pound of cast explosive — an industrial explosive used to set off larger charges — placed under the driver’s seat left the windshield shattered, the driver’s seat destroyed and the car’s front bumper twisted into a corkscrew 10 feet away.

Anywhere but the bomb range, Friday would have been a very bad day.

The Greensboro Police Department’s hazardous devices team — the bomb team — held training Friday to help familiarize emergency workers from Greensboro and the surrounding area with improvised explosive devices they might encounter.

A second training session occurs today .

The training began with a morning of classroom instruction about how such devices are commonly made and how to recognize them. That was then followed by an afternoon of watching things explode.

“Mainly it’s just to give first responders an awareness of commonly encountered explosives,” said senior Greensboro police officer Mike Macintosh , an instructor for the class.

Greensboro Police Sgt. Scott Kelly said he found the day of instruction useful.

“It’s not something that we get a lot of, but I’ve gotten one myself — one bomb call,” Kelly said. Someone had taped five highway flares together, wrapped them with wire and attached a clock so the package looked like a bomb.

The police department’s bomb team spends about a third of its time checking out suspicious items that are not explosive — like the highway flares Kelly was called to.

Another third of its time is spent disposing of what Macintosh calls “war trophies,” old military mines, grenades or other explosives that may have been kept as souvenirs.

The rest of the time, it’s the real thing — anything from old-school pipe bombs made from hardware store materials to stolen industrial explosives found during routine searches.

“We give them tips for how to respond and what to do before we (the bomb team) get there,” Macintosh said.

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com