An encounter with a fireman

[roadrunner32]

Outside our rural post office I saw my wife through rear view side mirror chatting with a man pointing our CT. Thinking he wanted to know about my CT which I get a lot so exited to join the conversation. It turns out he was a local fireman (might have been the fire chief as he seemed to speak with authority) He was obliged to tell my wife problems with EVs. He brought up a few things that understandably would be problematic to first responders.
He was polite and not in any way disrespectful or showing hate. Here are things he brought up:
1. No way to open the doors to access people injured or disabled inside. I said yeah I know they are going to change that. "But are they going to retrofit all of them?".
2. I asked if he knew about the fireman's loop. "Yes I do, but how could I get to it if it is under the hood that which I don't have access to."
3. He asked me how so I open the charge port. "I said with my phone". He responded with "Right I can't do that" Then he said he had or there is a special plug that if he were able to plug into the charging port it would disconnect all electricity in the vehicle but that he would have to pry off the cover to gain access. As much as I've paid attention to all things Tesla I did not know about such a plug. I do know about the breakaway cable that Tesla is suing the manufacturer of cause it overheats.
4. Also mentioned that rear passenger emergency manual door opening handle is hidden and one has to open a hidden compartment in the door to gain access.
5. Finally he brought up that he had witnessed three EV fires here which I strongly doubt. Me and one other person here have Teslas and if there had been an EV fire I would have known about it. I really wanted to quote that six ICE vehicle fires to one EV fires, but was not sure of the statistic and if it was normalized to per 1000 vehicles of each type. And most importantly I did not want to get into a pissing contest with quite possibly our fire chief.
I have some opinions about all these points and the "tenor" to which they were made and I'll post later . Some I'll have to look up.

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[BeerRunner]

Glad to read there are conversations about these.. I’m sure it will all get worked out in due time or at least when I can get one day. Way to handle it BTW

 

[SCTesla]

1. There was supposed to be software update that pops open all doors in a serious accident. That's the solution. If someone is disabled, they have to come in through the windshield.
2.-4. Give him this:

https://digitalassets.tesla.com/tes...rs-Cybertruck-Emergency-Response-Guide-EN.pdf

 

[Sephiroth]

Tell your fire chief to visit the NHTSA website below where they can access Emergency Response guides for all EVs, including Teslas.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/emergency-response-guides

 

[MCraft99]

I didn't see any mention of the jumper cables in the driver side front wheel that a 9V battery can jump to open the frunk. EV fires are no joke and do take considerably more water to put out and can even continue burning if submurged, for days. Tesla batteries are the safest of any brand though. As well as the truck's high strength steel battery tray being structural. All Teslas have a pyro fuse that disconnects the 3 phase terminals in severe accidents.

The windows, while sightly more resistant to shattering than most other vehicles, isn't impossible to break through. Nor is it the only vehicle having double pane glass with plastic glued between them. It's the same as every other front windshield or storm/burglar resistant house windows.

 

[CyberGus]

1. No way to open the doors to access people injured or disabled inside.

This is often true of crashed vehicles. That's why the First Responders have prybars and hydraulic extraction devices. The HFS adds difficulty but is not impervious. The doors "should"(?) unlock after a collision, and will open from the outside if low/mid voltage is still available and they are not jammed shut.

2. I asked if he knew about the fireman's loop. "Yes I do, but how could I get to it if it is under the hood that which I don't have access to."

Same as above. The Fireman's Loop is under the hood for all Tesla vehicles.

3. He asked me how so I open the charge port...

The plastic charge-port door will pry away easily. The device he's referring to to called The Emergency Plug, which basically tricks the vehicle into thinking it's connected to a charger, and thus disconnecting the drive train. It does *not* prevent thermal runaway, eliminate all shock hazard, or otherwise disable the pack.

For Teslas, it is basically pointless. If the airbags deploy, then the pyro fuses within the pack will also blow. This severs the pack from all external connections. There is no need for workarounds, or even cutting the Fireman's Loop (although that's a good "just in case" practice).

I don't doubt there's been at least 3 EV fires post-collision in a metro area the size of Houston.

 

[J.Graham]

3 DEI fire persons standing around a burning cybertruck with a family trapped inside. Oh well, chief says there's no way to get in this thing.

 

[dpoll995]

some firefighters are just fucking dumb ass "know it alls" and just want to spew shit when they can. this sounds like one of them. what idiot can just pry open the charge port cover??? my 3 year nephew was trying to help my charge mine and about ripped open the cover by hand before i could stop him, and a grown ass man is questioning about how to open the cover??? not hating on all firemen, respect them and glad they are there for us in time of need. just some of them are questionable....

 

[Limes2]

TIL - There are three stored gas containers for the airbags.

 

[espresso-drumbeat]

Are you sure he was not just hitting on your wife and then, once you showed up, played "know it all" "Imafireman" moron? Certainly looks that way as everything he talked bout it utter nonsense and/or applicable to any/all other cars in an emergency.

 

[Gaximus]

All Ice vehicles have a "Lock you kids in the back" feature that doesn't let you open the door from the inside incase of an accident, no matter how hard you look for a release. That doesn't seem to be concerning to anyone, so why should a hidden emergency latch be so concerning.

 

[roadrunner32]

some firefighters are just fucking dumb ass "know it alls" and just want to spew shit when they can. this sounds like one of them. what idiot can just pry open the charge port cover??? my 3 year nephew was trying to help my charge mine and about ripped open the cover by hand before i could stop him, and a grown ass man is questioning about how to open the cover??? not hating on all firemen, respect them and glad they are there for us in time of need. just some of them are questionable....

There are five firefighters I know, three of which are in my morning Bible study group. The other two are definitely not the way you speak. But totally possible that some are.

 

[dpoll995]

There are five firefighters I know, three of which are in my morning Bible study group. The other two are definitely not the way you speak. But totally possible that some are.

yea i didnt mean all of them. just saying some that i have met were that type and maybe the one you spoke to was a know it all type. even the know it all type, i still respect them as firefighter because i know they will be there to help anyone, im just not interested in their know it all opinions...

 

[roadrunner32]

This is often true of crashed vehicles. That's why the First Responders have prybars and hydraulic extraction devices. The HFS adds difficulty but is not impervious. The doors "should"(?) unlock after a collision, and will open from the outside if low/mid voltage is still available and they are not jammed shut.


Same as above. The Fireman's Loop is under the hood for all Tesla vehicles.



The plastic charge-port door will pry away easily. The device he's referring to to called The Emergency Plug, which basically tricks the vehicle into thinking it's connected to a charger, and thus disconnecting the drive train. It does *not* prevent thermal runaway, eliminate all shock hazard, or otherwise disable the pack.

For Teslas, it is basically pointless. If the airbags deploy, then the pyro fuses within the pack will also blow. This severs the pack from all external connections. There is no need for workarounds, or even cutting the Fireman's Loop (although that's a good "just in case" practice).

I don't doubt there's been at least 3 EV fires post-collision in a metro area the size of Houston.

Thanks CyberGus for your responses and like wise to the others here that have posted, the more I reflect on the encounter from other things that he said it is that he just didn't like EVs and especially the truck. Not going to quote his remark about the truck, I might get it wrong but he did say pointing to my truck "especially that one". I'll avoid having a big confrontation with him in the future but will point out that these Teslas especially with FSD are successfully avoiding accidents that you have to respond to and all the things you are concerned about.

You are right about EV fires in Houston, I've seen more than three when we lived there and when we go into the city. None were Teslas, BTW.

 

[roadrunner32]

yea i didnt mean all of them. just saying some that i have met were that type and maybe the one you spoke to was a know it all type. even the know it all type, i still respect them as firefighter because i know they will be there to help anyone, im just not interested in their know it all opinions...

Agreed! I know you meant some.

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