A new video posted on X and TikTok shows firefighters attempting to break the Cybertruck’s windows. However, despite wielding heavy axes, it takes three blows to see the first crack and over 12 blows to break the window completely.
Why are they using an axe and not any of the specifically made tools to break a window? A spring loaded window punch shouldn’t take up any appreciable amount of space or weight on a suited up fireman.
I have no idea.
Not only because a punch is a smarter glass break, but also because an axe at a car with someone in it is a FUCKING STUPID IDEA.
Spent years as a volunteer firefighter, near a major highway so ive done… A lot of extrications.
- If the windshield is still there, we remove the whole thing. Its laminated, a punch is just going to make a hole. So we’d remove the whole damn windshield to keep glass away from victims.
- if its a side window, that’s getting broken - not to get in, but to keep the glass clear of the victims while we force the door open with big ass spreaders or the combi (I always preferred the combo - pinch cut then spread was much faster).
If you notice, the consistent thing there is not smashing a window toward the damn victim in the car.
Side note, I highly recommend a seat belt cutter, an automatic punch, and a light be in every car for emergencies. The holidays are coming, make them a stocking stuffer. They even have those combo ones that are ridiculous looking, but have all three features, and they fit in a glove box.
Also, please be safe when driving during the holidays. The day before thanksgiving was almost as bad as new years eve, so please, be careful. And if you are going out get a DD or an uber/lyft/whatever.
Its never fun getting dead kids out of a car. Its much less fun when you know they were in town to visit their parents.
/rant-ish.
Edit: Fixing autocorrect.
Your first bullet point is why your way of doing this is “FUCKING STUPID”, which one look at the picture would have told you.
No, it doesn’t, though I understand why you would think that. I didn’t note what you’d do with laminate without a frame, it highlighted what you would do which is remove the entire window if its damaged.
With a laminated window, like a windshield, you want it as much in one piece as possible. Given that its a laminated window, what you’d want to do is remove the whole assembly - and in this case its a single pane - I’d want to remove the whole thing in one piece, not smash it to pieces.
If the windshield is damaged, what you’d be doing is removing as much of it together as possible, not swinging an axe at it to drive pieces in. So instead I would punch it at the corners and pull it out using a halligan to pry it.
If there is no time, and given that its laminated, I’d skip the window entirely and just use the spreaders on the door. Can’t say I’ve used them on a cybertruck obviously, but I can guarantee they have the power to pop that door off.
If the door gap isn’t enough to get the spreaders in for a bite, I’d drive a halligan in first, pry it open, an shove the spreaders in.
Obviously this is all my opinion, but I stand by mine that driving an axe at a window like that would be really stupid to do.
I feel like it also good to have doors that can be opened in a mechanical fastion.
