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> All I'm saying is, never trust Elon Musk PR to tell you the whole picture. Never trust anyone's PR to give you the whole picture! Though as a counterpoint,

> All I'm saying is, never trust Elon Musk PR to tell you the whole picture. Never trust anyone's PR to give you the whole picture! Though as a counterpoint, I've seen cars with the roof cut off to extract people, but never the side doors or the floor cut open. I don't think they'd cut the floor since it's quite thick and has all sorts of wires and pipes anyway.

abalone 13y ago
You've never seen doors cut off? You must not have seen much then.. happens all the time. Google jaws of life. BTW here is the Tesla first responder training video that shows how to cut off a door(!) and move the dash without electrocuting yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntK3rvVl2Qw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntK3rvVl2Qw It's a pretty cool video, I expect most people on this thread would enjoy watching it. I sure did.. although I'm not sure I'd want to be stuck bleeding in a Tesla while they figure it out. Also a little concerned about a short happening during an accident and electrifying passengers.. would like to know more about the risks there.
JshWright 13y ago
Firefighter here... The major thing that concerns me about the Model S is the placement of the DC-DC converter in the front right wheel well. There's a common maneuver called a 'dash lift' where you make a couple relief cuts and then lift the dash using a hydraulic ram. Properly place, those cuts are dangerously close to that high voltage system. Explanation of relief cut placement: http://advancedextrication.com/2011/12/closer-dash-lift-part-2-relief-cuts/ http://advancedextrication.com/2011/12/closer-dash-lift-part... EDIT: The video abalone posted has a great walk-through on rolling the dash of a Model S. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ntK3rvVl2Qw&t=1642 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ntK... Another issue is the seat belt pretensioner, which would complicated a 'side blitz' door removal (where both doors are removed as a unit), but that's a pretty standard place for the pretensioner, so it's something we're used to working around.
- nzealand 13y ago
  Looks challenging. How does that compare with a Prius?
  - JshWright 13y ago
    A Prius is a lot simpler. All the electric components are well away from all the 'usual' cut locations. Obviously all the normal concerns apply (air bags, pretentioners, etc), but from an extrication perspective, they're pretty straightforward. The one issue common to all EVs (hybrid or plugin) is that the can silently deliver power to the wheels. With a 'normal' car, you can hear the engine running. With an EV, it can be harder to tell if it's on or not. One of the first things we do it secure the keys, but with keyless ignition, the key may be trapped in the drivers pocket. That means the big round 'On' button just needs to be bumped by someone for the car to power up. That's why it's critical that we're able to disable the electrical systems of the car, to prevent it from starting up unexpectedly.

abalone 13y ago

You've never seen doors cut off? You must not have seen much then.. happens all the time. Google jaws of life. BTW here is the Tesla first responder training video that shows how to cut off a door(!) and move the dash without electrocuting yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntK3rvVl2Qw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntK3rvVl2Qw It's a pretty cool video, I expect most people on this thread would enjoy watching it. I sure did.. although I'm not sure I'd want to be stuck bleeding in a Tesla while they figure it out. Also a little concerned about a short happening during an accident and electrifying passengers.. would like to know more about the risks there.

JshWright 13y ago

Firefighter here... The major thing that concerns me about the Model S is the placement of the DC-DC converter in the front right wheel well. There's a common maneuver called a 'dash lift' where you make a couple relief cuts and then lift the dash using a hydraulic ram. Properly place, those cuts are dangerously close to that high voltage system. Explanation of relief cut placement: http://advancedextrication.com/2011/12/closer-dash-lift-part-2-relief-cuts/ http://advancedextrication.com/2011/12/closer-dash-lift-part... EDIT: The video abalone posted has a great walk-through on rolling the dash of a Model S. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ntK3rvVl2Qw&t=1642 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ntK... Another issue is the seat belt pretensioner, which would complicated a 'side blitz' door removal (where both doors are removed as a unit), but that's a pretty standard place for the pretensioner, so it's something we're used to working around.

nzealand 13y ago
Looks challenging. How does that compare with a Prius?
- JshWright 13y ago
  A Prius is a lot simpler. All the electric components are well away from all the 'usual' cut locations. Obviously all the normal concerns apply (air bags, pretentioners, etc), but from an extrication perspective, they're pretty straightforward. The one issue common to all EVs (hybrid or plugin) is that the can silently deliver power to the wheels. With a 'normal' car, you can hear the engine running. With an EV, it can be harder to tell if it's on or not. One of the first things we do it secure the keys, but with keyless ignition, the key may be trapped in the drivers pocket. That means the big round 'On' button just needs to be bumped by someone for the car to power up. That's why it's critical that we're able to disable the electrical systems of the car, to prevent it from starting up unexpectedly.