Fenders or “wings” are the focus of this article on vehicle rescue. With today’s arsenal of rescue tools, fenders are not tough or really difficult to remove, but the why, the how, and the method are key in the case below.

Removing the vehicle fender is a priority when it can add some time to the patient’s clock. Remember, trauma is a disease of time. Removal of the vehicle front fender on the same side that your patient is on gives you access to an area for an all-important energy-releasing relief cut and instant access to the front door hinges you need to cut or spread, depending on your operational plan. After you have completed stabilization, perform the fender evolutions below first.

Use caution with all these fender evolutions when working around the vehicle’s suspension. Don’t cut, crush, or squeeze the vehicle’s suspension components. Be careful when making the vertical relief cut if you cut through the hood or rear hatch area; many vehicles today use gas piston struts to assist with lifting and holding the hood and hatch door up.

In the fender strip evolution, you will displace the fender. Starting at the point where the fender, the door, and the A post meet, place the power hydraulic spreader tips and begin a spreading operation. Control this spreading motion because you want the fender to move out and away from the vehicle. This will expose the crush zone, the door hinges, and the wiring knockout hole in the dash area. Exposing all these areas will accelerate your tool access for other displacement evolutions and allow you to make your vertical relief cut easier.

The fender peel evolution enables you to reach into the fender well and find the vehicle’s front suspension. You then take the power hydraulic cutter and make a vertical cut in a straight line with the suspension, just cutting the fender. Make another cut horizontally near the bottom of the fender, close to the base of the A post and the rocker panel. Grab the fender above the horizontal cut, pull it up vertically, and bend it over the hood to move it out of your way. Caution: Some vehicles have reinforcement straps that attach the fender to the vehicle’s body; you might need to cut them too. The fender peel also exposes the crush zone, the door hinges, and the dash wiring knockout hole.

You now have access to those front door hinges. Before you cut or spread the door hinges, use the old-school trick of jamming a stress ball up under the door handle to keep tension on the latch. Use your spreader or cutters to displace or cut the door hinges. As always, remember to use hard protection between your tool work and your patient. When cutting, make sure the cutter blades go completely past the hinge before closing them. If you are spreading, make sure your tips are as deep as they can go to minimize material tearing. Cut or break the wiring loom and the door strap. Now, the door should drop to the ground nose first at a 45° angle. Before you put tools to the door latch, try to operate the door handle. More than likely, the door will come off the latch fairly easily.

Dashboard displacement in today’s vehicles can be difficult. Although tools today have increased power and capability, the vehicles we deal with usually leapfrog past the tools’ ability to manage with ease. With this in mind, we must always look for ways to defeat vehicles to enhance our patient’s outcome.

Dash displacement is one tool evolution that has changed over the recent past. Moving dashes has become increasingly problematic as vehicle construction methodology has evolved. Today’s vehicles can readily absorb crash energy and dissipate or redistribute it throughout the vehicle’s structure. Although this saves lives and reduces injuries, how does it affect our tool operations?

(1) An overview of the tool evolutions. (Photos by author.)

(2) The crush/crumple zone relief cut.

(3) The result of the fender evolution, door removal, and dash-lift displacement.

The dash reinforcement beam has made relocation and space making difficult, but then the added issue of energy absorption makes the traditional dash roll problematic. Dash lifting is a better option in today’s vehicles, but even that can be difficult with certain vehicle makes or if the vehicle is severely damaged. To make these dash displacement operations work better and give the rescuer the space needed, consider additional strategic cutting: Create a vertical relief cut into the energy absorption or crush/crumple zone. This vertical relief cut allows you to isolate the dash when used in conjunction with the cuts of a dash displacement evolution. This isolation enables you to displace just the dash/firewall area without fighting the rest of the vehicle structure.

Where do you place these cuts? First, work on the vehicle’s nose, on the same side as the patient being extricated. Place the cut past the vehicle’s suspension or toward the passenger compartment. This cut allows the dash, when either lifted or rolled, to pivot or hinge without the vehicle structure impeding displacement. Your cut must be a little wider and deeper so you do not pinch the crush zone and bind up. This evolution is effective, but if you make some additional strategic cuts or spreads, it makes your dash evolutions and door displacements easier as well.

Fender evolutions, seemingly minor in the grand scheme of extrication, play an increasingly important role in spacemaking operations. As vehicle technology impacts tool evolutions, we need to constantly think and work smart. We will need to revisit our tool evolutions and see in what ways vehicle materials, construction, and design impact us and adjust our methodology to stay on top of the game. Making space quickly and safely and accounting for vehicle technology will help us provide for better patient outcomes.

DAVID DALRYMPLE has been involved with emergency services for 38 years. He has been teaching first responders vehicle rescue for the past 27 years, educating them on vehicle technology issues and concerns. He is involved with the Society of Automotive Engineers Task Force on electric, hybrid, and alternative-fueled vehicles for first and second responders. Dalrymple is the educator/rescue consultant for RoadwayRescue LLC and has taught at FDIC International since 2003.