At the Colorado State Fire Fighters Association’s 2025 Fire College, Chop Shop RX Instructors walk firefighters through the entire sidewall removal on the dirty side, allowing full patient access.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION:

Introduction – Cutting the Door

Cutters. After they make this cut, they’re gonna drop in here. We want a flat cut below the bottom hinge on this door if we’re in the door. Well, with some electric tools being longer. I’m at an angle, correct? Mm-hmm. And if I’m at an angle, that cut is gonna be driving down towards the rocker channel and it’s not gonna rip through the B post.

It’s gonna stop short. So I want it flat as possible. If I have a thick B post and I’m worried my cut’s gonna be too shallow and angled down, I’m gonna call, have the spreaders, blow that seat out. I’m gonna come into the compartment, drop the tool flat, and get a nice cut and not have to worry about my backhand at all.

Cutting the B-Post

So next we get into cutting the B post. We’re gonna cut as high to roof railing . As possible. Our second cut is gonna drop down and it’s gonna cut right on top of the seatbelt mount. That is your sweet spot. I can either reach in and feel that seatbelt mount just like this, or I can look across from the clean side, but I’m not gonna take my helmet off or look inside the front if I make a cut here and I can’t get through the material.

The best way to get through the material is 90 degree changes of angle, and don’t be in your same cut. Because the blade will follow that same cut and then be stuck again. So I’m gonna do 90 degree changes of angle and I’m gonna take material off of both sides with tip loading, and then I’m gonna make a final run at it and attack that material that’s holding me up.

Addressing the Seatbelt

If I do not address this seatbelt, two things are gonna happen. When I go to spread this. First and worst, I’m gonna introduce about 200,000 pounds of force. To this person’s chest and lap. The second, if this is clean side work, and I don’t have anybody in here yet, my seatbelt retractor has locks, which they’re designed to do.

When I go to spread this, the path of least resistance will put this seatbelt in detention and in tension, it is extremely strong. And in doing so now, I may track, track, track, track up resistance, and now I may blow out my perfectly good push point, all because I didn’t address the seatbelt. The cutter cuts everything.

Door Limiter and Spreader Technique

So there is a thing on these doors, and it’s called a wind latch, hurricane latch, or limiter. We prefer to leave the WR limiter in place because many times if the B post is substantial and you go to pull, there’s many times people will lose the bottom hinge on the door, and that kind of defeats a little bit of our purpose.

So by leaving the limiter there and the hinge, we have a stronger point. For the push on our arm, now the spreaders are gonna come in at a 45. One arm is gonna touch the stub of the B post rocker channel combination, and the other arm is gonna reach up, touch the bottom, hinge or slightly below it, and we’re gonna spread out and away.

Steering Wheel Lift

If I’ve already had my guys take the door, I’m like, lift that steering wheel up before you put that spine board under his butt, because as he goes to lift his thighs are gonna hit the steering wheel. So once the door is open. I can step forward with my spreaders in a wide position. I hook the steering wheel here and one arm up here.

I take my back hand and move it into this position here, and I’m gonna lift that steering wheel about four to five inches off the left. Alright,

Door Removal Technique

we’re gonna cut this door off on top. Hinge, bottom hinge wire bundle limit strap. We’re gonna cut top to bottom. How many of you guys have been this person in training or in real life?

We get that for. Bro, we really, all we do is throw our back out. My goal is to open it for my cutter like this. Now come on in and cut the top hinge after you cut the top of your stop.

Alright, now watch this. I take it, as far as it goes, I take a half a step in and then watch, push to the ground and it already bent to the ground on its own. But by doing that. As I push it to the ground, now she has a perfect V to get the next two items. So rather than going here, I come in here and then just push to the ground a little bit.

Nine outta 10 times, it’ll go all the way to the ground and create a huge V. Go ahead and get the other items.

Roof Raise Procedure

We don’t remove roofs. We do the roof raise for access when possible. But you’re gonna come in and double cut right here.

So we’ve got that high. Now we wanna get some room on there. Spreaders are gonna come in, tool is gonna self-correct. Tool is self-correcting. Now, stop. I want you to get two hands on the tool, but step back a little bit. Be prepared for some slippage. Watch this. Don’t worry about that.

Okay, check it out.

Final Access

So now we have access to the patient. Everything is golden here.

* The training views expressed in this video are those of the training instructors, and not Fire Spotlight. The actions in this video are inherently dangerous and could result in death; should the viewers choose to adopt any views expressed in this video, he/she is doing so at his/her own risk. Fire Spotlight encourages viewers to review his/her department’s Standard Operating Procedures when adopting any new training views.