If three attempts with a punch result in the marks shown, proceed with your laminated glass removal techniques.

A firefighter approaches the damaged vehicle with a spring loaded center punch in her gloved hand. Upon receiving a nod from her officer, she announces "breaking glass" and presses the punch low in the corner of the window until she hears a dull thud. To everyone’s surprise, the punch "punched," but only a small BB-size fracture appeared in the window glass.

If this were to ever happen to you, what would you do?

I, for one, would try a second time with the punch, thinking that for some reason it wasn’t working right or possibly I had placed it incorrectly on the side window glass. After a second pop and even a third, if the only evidence of your efforts is three small BB-size dings in the glass, you may be the first in your department to encounter a vehicle equipped with laminated side and rear windows.

The New Technology

As an experiment, the laminated EPG in the side windows of the vehicle are left intact. Note how it fractures under stress from the power spreader.

The newest class of laminated side and rear vehicle window glass, know as Enhanced Protective Glass (EPG), is a rapidly growing new application, driven by consumer demand for improved intrusion resistance and increased comfort. Police estimate that half of all vehicle break-ins are through side windows. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reviewed occupant ejections during crashes for one year and found that 45% could have been prevented if the vehicle were equipped with alternative glazing such as laminated side window glass, instead of tempered.

Laminated glass has been used successfully in passenger vehicles for more than 60 years in front windshields, providing protection in head-on collisions and when exterior objects such as rocks strike windshields. Today, vehicles such as the Audi A8 also use laminated glass for side and rear windows. This has been standard equipment since the 1998 model year and has been an option since 1995. Selected models of BMW vehicles are available with a security glass option. The Mercedes S class sedan has laminated side and rear windows standard on 2000 models. Volvo’s S80 and V70 models also offer laminated side windows as an option.

After using a windshield saw for the horizontal cut, the glass is pried outward at the bottom center point.

The basic structure of laminated safety glass is a sandwich of two or more sheets of glass bonded together with a strong plastic interlayer of polyvinyl butyral (PVB). This is the same glass "sandwich" construction used in vehicle windshields. The thickness of the glass layers and the plastic layer will be very similar to the windshield, as well. If damaged in a crash, laminated side or rear windows fracture and behave very similar to a front windshield. A spider web pattern of cracks will develop with the glass held together in one large piece by the plastic inner layer of plastic.

Crash Scene Identification

It is difficult to tell if an undamaged side or rear window is of laminated or tempered glass construction. The movable side windows will be mounted in the doors in the same manner regardless of whether they are tempered or laminated glass.

If a side or rear window is impacted during a crash, the tempered glass may break into the small glass nuggets. A laminated window will fracture into the famous "spider web" design. A rescuer will be able to see this difference upon approach to the vehicle.

Pulling the laminated glass out and down causes it to release free of the door frame and roofline.

With an undamaged window, possibly examining the small print in a lower corner of the window may reveal the word "tempered" or "laminated."

Extrication Procedures

So what do we do right now if the next crash we go to presents us with a vehicle with laminated side and rear windows? Fortunately we are already familiar with laminated glass. Consider a vehicle with laminated side or rear windows as having a lot of small windshields. All standard vehicle crash scene protocols will still apply.

When required to forcibly remove laminated side or rear window glass, follow these simple steps:

1. Determine which side window is to be opened.

2. Protect the patient and inside medic.

3. Announce "breaking glass."

4. Apply spring-loaded center punch with steady push low in a corner of the glass.

5a. If the side window glass is tempered, it will break instantly when the punch pops. Remove glass nuggets and proceed with next assignment.

5b. If the side window is laminated, you will get your first BB mark when the punch pops. Place the punch to the left or right of the first spot and operate the punch again. If a second BB mark results, move to a third location on the window and try again. After three pops, you must proceed on the assumption that the glass is laminated safety glass.

6. Use a windshield saw (or a chopping or cutting tool) to make a horizontal cut low along the entire bottom edge of the glass. This cut is made approximately one inch above the edge of the door and runs the full length of the window.

Laminated glass removal involves making a low horizontal cut followed by pulling 1. Cut low across entire bottom of EPG window. 2. Pry out at center, grab and pull out and down.

7. Using the tool in your hand, pry the lower edge of the laminated glass window out slightly. Grab this bottom edge of the window with your hand and pull toward you. This bows the glass outward. Now, pull the entire piece of laminated glass down and out of the door frame. This new laminated glass removal procedure will take one rescuer about five seconds to complete.

8. If the rear window of a vehicle is equipped with laminated glass, think of it as a second windshield. Whatever tool or technique you use now for windshield removal will work for total rear window removal as well. The full rear laminated glass window can be completely cut out of its’ frame using a windshield saw, reciprocating saw or other glass cutting tool.

Vehicle Fire Scenario

If a vehicle equipped with laminated glass is burning, exposure to heat and flames will destroy laminated glass. Initial heat exposure will discolor the glass. Continued exposure to higher levels of heat or flame will cause the glass and plastic layers to delaminate. The laminated glass will then droop and melt away.

This author wishes to thank Solutia Inc. of Springfield, MA, and the Enhanced Protective Glass Automotive Association (EPGAA) for their technical expertise and visual support of this University of Extrication article.