When the driver or the other front seat passenger is pinned under the dash we should be able to blitz the side of the car and lift the dash fast.  When I say it should be fast; it should be.  How do we get fast?  Training.  How do know what is safe for the patient and us?  Training.  Do what is fastest and safest for us and the patient.  JD Vasbinder, Phil Burden, Tom Wilcox and more have banged that into my head over the years.

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When the vehicle is upright there are several steps to make the dash lift a fast one.  Realize patient contact and protection is part of this scenario.  First, stabilize the vehicle, eliminate the battery (cut/remove the cables), and identify vehicle technology hazard locations.  Second, blitz the side doors of the vehicle.  You can go front to back or back to front.  Teaching point on this step: cut the bottom of the B post as far as your cutter tips will reach in, then use the spreaders to tear the remainder of the post.

Cutter man and spreader man can both be working. Plan your moves.

Third, make a relief cut just behind the strut tower.  Some options include using the cutters entirely, removing the fender skin with a chisel then cutting, or crushing with the spreaders as a secondary option.  Next make a cut on the A post using the given wiring chase as a cheater hole.  Then cut the remainder of the post.  Do not cut the rocker panel.  Also, cut the A post towards the roof line as another relief.  The last part is the actual lift.  Be sure to crib under the A post where the lift will be made.    Insert the spreader tips into the wiring chase hole and lift.  Several small adjustments may be needed as the metal crumples.

Finished Lift

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