With all the news in recent months about tire failure and recall, this is a good time to take a look at the tires on your emergency vehicles. If your not looking at the tires every time you inspect your vehicle, you should begin now. Vehicle inspections should be completed after each vehicle use, daily or at least weekly. This should be done utilizing a standard checkoff form developed expressly for your apparatus. A generic sample is available through the ESIP Loss Control Department, however this should be used only as a guideline to develop a form unique to your equipment.
Many organizations miss checking the tires.
Look at tread wear or separation. If the wear is excessive, the tire should be replaced as soon as possible. Excessive tread wear impacts stopping, steering, and acceleration. If the wear is uneven, corrections should be made to the wheel alignment or tire balance, both of which are critical to the safe operation of the vehicle. Finally, should the tire show any separation of the tread from the tire or if there is critical damage to the sidewalls, it should be reviewed further by your mechanic and taken out of service until the tire can be replaced.