How do you tear apart a Tesla Model S? Very carefully.
In serious car accidents, firefighters often need to use high-powered hydraulic rescue tools (such as the "Jaws of Life”) to pry open crushed cars and retrieve trapped passengers.
This is a risky operation, because cars contain all sorts of dangerous chemicals and by design are full of gasoline which is highly flammable. In addition to all those flammable, corrosive and dangerous chemicals threatening a car’s passengers, cars contain high-voltage batteries that need to be carefully handled. Simply put, cars are full of dangerous stuff that becomes far more dangerous when you crash. Because of this, operating the Jaws of Life is a complicated process, requiring intensive training.
But what if a car doesn’t run on gasoline? That makes it easier to handle in an emergency situation, right? Not at all.
With electric cars starting to appear on American roadways, emergency workers must now adapt to a new set of restrictions on how to pry them apart. Electric cars are full of their own dangerous obstacles to avoid when tearing them apart with hydraulic equipment, such as giant battery packs, high voltage cables and DC converters.
Tesla has released a video featuring car extraction rescue expert Brock Archer running through just how to rip apart a Tesla. How does it differ from a normal car? First, the floor under the passenger compartment is lined with a giant battery, meaning punching through the floor is strictly prohibited. Also, the DC converter is located between the right front wheel and the dashboard, meaning that prying the dashboard off a trapped passenger (an important use for the Jaws of Life) requires a different approach.
For more information on prying apart a Tesla safely (for work and pleasure), check out Tesla Motor’s guide for first responders and Archer’s video below.
(Edited by Lois Heyman)
