By Thomas R. Mackay, Jr.
Geography seems to be the leading factor in determining the title used to identify the person who drives a vehicle within the fire service. Driver, lieutenant, engineer, chauffeur, and other terms all serve as synonyms for the individuals charged with operating a piece of fire apparatus. In the Phoenix Metropolitan area, “engineer” describes the aforementioned rank and the number of responsibilities that accompany it. In very basic terms, the engineer is the one individual accountable for the operation, performance, and completeness of an assigned vehicle. In addition to being part of the suppression team, the engineer has the responsibility of ensuring that the crew arrives to and from emergency events safely and has all of the resources needed to accomplish the mission.
YOU IN THE ENGINEER’S ROLE
Now, I ask you to you envision yourself as the engineer and to hypothetically accept all of the engineer’s responsibilities. A great deal of your time, then, would revolve around your vehicle and its contents. At the beginning of every shift, you evaluate each piece of equipment to make sure that it is present and functioning properly. You review the truck in great detail as you check the pump, emergency lighting, and communications systems. You inspect the primary and secondary braking systems, fluid levels, belts, and tires to ensure that every facet of the vehicle is in proper working order.
When you are satisfied that the vehicle has met your department’s established guidelines for readiness and your personal level of comfort, you continue about the normal activities of the shift. Crew meetings, inspections, physical training, and other items are tackled as the volume of emergency calls allows.
One day while reviewing the department’s current E-mail, you come across an item highlighting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) report regarding the Firestone tire recall. Scanning through the bulletin, you learn that Firestone has announced that it would recall approximately 14.4 million tires because of a safety-related defect. As you continue reading the notice, you learn that the recall will cover all P235/75 R15 Firestone ATX and ATX II tires (from 1991 to the present) and all P235/75R15 Wilderness AT tires (from 1996 to the present) manufactured at Firestone’s plant in Decatur, Illinois. Reading further, you find that the government has expanded its investigation of the organization to include eight other types of Firestone tires, which, it says, may be even more dangerous than the ones recalled. They include more Wilderness AT and Wilderness HT, ATX VD, HY, Firehawk ATX, ATX 23 degree, Widetrack Radial Baja, and Widetrack Radial Baja AS tires.
You review the NHTSA statistics relative to these tires and begin to understand the reasons behind the recall-more than 2,200 complaints, resulting in more than 400 injuries and more than 100 reported deaths. You note that the site has been updated quite frequently over the past few weeks. You wonder silently how large the problem actually is and how the statistics will change in the weeks to come.
Armed with the knowledge provided by the bulletin, you decide to check Firestone’s Web site for an explanation of the situation and its official response. You search the site for a cause for the tire failure but find only the response “We do not know” listed. Firestone reports, “The continuing NHTSA inquiry is seeking an explanation, and we are cooperating fully with that inquiry. However, out of a commitment to public safety and consumer confidence, Bridgestone/Firestone has decided to recall the tires even though no definitive cause has been determined. The number of incidents reported has been relatively low in proportion to the vast number of tires on the road and the miles driven. Other than the P235/75R15 Wilderness tire made at Decatur, there have been no other concerns with tires made at the plant. We do not yet know the reason why there were more incidents reported with that size tire from the Decatur plant. Bridgestone/Firestone maintains rigorous quality control procedures in the plant as it does in all of its plants.” (Firestone, 2000).
You make a mental note of all of the information you have reviewed. The fact that your piece of apparatus has six Firestone tires on it seems an interesting coincidence, and you are thankful that they are not among the models and production lots of the tires listed as dangerous. You continue your day’s duties with no additional thoughts of Firestone.
A Rude Awakening and Close Call
At 9:30 a.m., your unit is dispatched to a serious vehicle accident. Jumping into the driver’s seat, you perform a quick scan of the truck to ensure that each member of your crew is ready to respond. The bay door goes up. You pull out onto the apron as the sequencer trips your emergency lighting into action. The familiar wail of your mechanical siren drowns out the rumbling of the engine contained within your 1996 75-foot ladder truck (Ladder 102). You know the address of the call well; you travel that direction to and from work each shift. Everything about the call is routine. Nothing seems left to chance, with the possible exception of the severity of the accident requiring your response.
 Left front tire post of Ladder 102 after the tire failed while en route to a vehicle accident. |
As you travel through an intersection that you have traversed hundreds of times in the past, you hear an explosion that deafens your left ear. A horrible screech screams through the cab of the truck as shrapnel begins to bounce off the window. Your normally agile vehicle now seems to be using all of its 46,000 pounds against you as it veers to the left. Your left quarter panel dives toward the ground, thrusting additional momentum against your efforts to control the vehicle. You feel yourself drifting toward the belowgrade median, and the image of the truck’s rolling over into oncoming traffic flashes before you. The tension is almost palpable. Every firefighter in your truck and oncoming drivers with terrified faces brace for the inevitable.
 Close-up view of the damaged tire. (Photos by Ray Williams.) |
Only seconds pass, but it seems like an eternity before you are able to coax the vehicle back into your lane, barely missing a reinforced traffic sign. You ease your foot off the gas; the familiar roar of the engine brake becomes an ally in your battle as the truck begins to slow. A hint of control returns as you cautiously apply pressure to the brakes, coasting to a stop with your truck remaining in its lane. The burst of air expelled as you snap your parking brake into place has never been so welcome.
Stepping to the ground, your eyes focus toward the left front tire. The long straps of steel and rubber that now dangle from the sides of your tire have damaged a large portion of the cab. However, only one image captures your view as you step toward the misshapen form: the word Firestone.
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Your crew members and a number of motorists who witnessed the incident congratulate you. One impression seems to echo through the testimony of all persons present: “I really thought the truck was going to roll over. It was tipped so badly to the left. I just can’t understand how you kept that thing from going into the median.”
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You realize that a small amount of luck coupled with years of experience and an aggressive driver’s training program allowed you to maintain control of the vehicle. The vehicle is towed, the documentation process begins, and you view the entire event as a valuable experience you would rather not repeat.
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During the next several days, the press coverage surrounding the Firestone controversy increases. Various forms of media are reporting that additional tire failures are resulting in more accidents and deaths; the reports constantly inundate you.
During your next few shifts, you respond to a number of vehicle accidents and now find yourself looking at the brand of tire as you survey the damage to the vehicle. Every news story you hear brings back the memory of trying to keep your truck under control. Every article in the newspaper makes you consider what would have happened had luck not been on your side that day.
 The failed tire. (Photos by George Petru.) |
While treating a patient involved in a motor vehicle accident caused by a tire failure, heavy rain causes you to miss the opportunity to view the brand involved. Traditional fire station etiquette prompts you to utter, “It wasn’t a Firestone tire, was it?” The emphatic “Yes, it was” response from the driver wipes the innocent smile from your face. A free moment gives you the chance to evaluate the tires on the vehicle involved, and you see that that model was not included in the recall. You survey the accident scene again and realize that you could be the one answering the question you have just asked and that your ladder truck could be a twisted pile of metal now resting in the same median you somehow avoided.
A few weeks after your own harrowing incident, your conversation with the department mechanic is interrupted by a call for assistance from one of your department’s rescues. You learn that the ambulance crew, while returning to its station, has experienced a tire failure. The tire blew out and caused a substantial amount of damage to the vehicle. Again, these particular Firestone tires were not included in the recall. Yet, they failed in the same manner as those that were included in the recall. You imagine that the failure could have caused a rollover accident while a firefighter was attending to a patient in the back of the ambulance. Your spine shivers. An aggressive driver’s training program, experience, and a certain amount of luck have again provided your department with a positive outcome.
However, you realize just how easily both scenarios could have ended in disaster. You begin to survey the vehicles throughout your department, repeatedly finding the name Firestone embedded in the tires’ sidewalls.
You keep an open ear to the investigation surrounding both tire failures involving your department’s vehicles while continuing to perform your own research. Each day seems to bring new information and a realization that the current recall merely scratches the surface of the number of tires experiencing failures. Individuals in the automotive industry have told you, “You should see the tire reclaim room at this place; you won’t believe how many Firestones they have. This is just the beginning, and it is going to be huge. I don’t see how they are going to be able to recover from this one.”
You learn of class action lawsuits being instituted around the country and that many individuals are keeping their information “under wraps” for the time being so that their lawsuits will not be jeopardized. You cannot help but wonder what will happen the next time a tire on a piece of fire apparatus fails.
As an engineer, you realize that one of your primary responsibilities is to make sure that your crew travels to and from emergency scenes in a safe manner. You have now discovered a potential safety defect in one of your vehicle’s most basic elements that could prevent you from accomplishing that mission. Questions begin flooding your thoughts: How do I respond to this realization? What changes can I make to reduce the hazard? Do I have the ability to keep myself, my crew, and the customers we serve safe while driving our vehicle?
THE INVESTIGATION FACTS
Evaluating the situation from the outside may give the appearance that the recall and the aforementioned incidents are isolated events. In fact, listening to the media coverage today would lead one to believe that nothing like this has ever occurred in the past. It seems as if history is being ignored or overlooked in this situation, as even minor research reveals that Firestone has had a number of difficulties in the past.
A search of the NHTSA database www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/ problems/recalls/mmy.cfm returns 114 records involving official recalls of Firestone tires.1 Problems with Firestone were first listed in 1973, when both tires and rims were listed as having defects that could result in the rapid loss of air pressure, causing the “great potential for an accident.” These initial reports describe tires experiencing bead separation and the potential for coming off the rim. Reading on reveals numerous cases that highlight recalls involving tread separation.
The database provides an almost 30-year overview of difficulties associated with some Firestone tires. A major hazard noted was the potential for the tires to rapidly lose inflating pressure, causing the loss of control of the vehicle and vehicle accidents. The similarities in many of the events could lead one to logically conclude that the current problems might stem from undercuring the tires, contamination under the tread belts, incorrect fabric or rubber compound in the tread belts, or insufficient tread to carcass adhesion.
THE DILEMMA
If you work as an engineer or in an equivalent position, you realize how these failures can affect your position. If you work in some other capacity, imagine yourself in the role of the engineer, having to fulfill all of the responsibilities that accompany the position. The cargo you have been entrusted with is priceless. You must use every skill at your disposal to protect it. Your fellow firefighters, employer, and community have bestowed an enormous amount of trust in you and your abilities. You must decide how you will embrace such faith. You may have a limited scope of ability to effect change in this situation, but you are now armed with facts that at the minimum should encourage you to perform your own research into the matter.
Do Nothing Right Now?
You can offer any number of arguments for keeping these tires on your apparatus and can chose to ignore all that you have read. Perhaps your Firestones are new, and you feel the low mileage will buy you some time, although NHTSA statistics show the tires have failed with as few as 15 miles on them. Perhaps you operate in a state that has a cool climate, choosing to ignore the fact that tires have failed with ambient temperatures of less than 80°F. Perhaps you feel that the cost of replacing the tires is simply beyond the scope of your budget. If this is the case, consider this: The dollar loss resulting from the damage associated with one tire failure was more than double the cost of replacing all of the Firestone tires on the Sun City West (AZ) Fire Department’s vehicles. Perhaps you may feel that a tire failure could never happen in your department. But, what if it does?
What If Something Happens?
How will you respond when your apparatus experiences a tire failure and you lose control and collide with a family sedan? How will you respond to a line-of-duty death inquiry conducted by the federal government? Are you prepared to stand in front of a crowded room with cameras pointing at you from every angle and explain the following to the media and public: “You knew there was some type of problem with these tires, yet you did nothing; can you please explain your lack of action”?
Worse yet, imagine the preceding question being delivered to you by a skilled attorney as you sit on the witness stand. If one firefighter conducting research in his leisure time can come up with enough information to sway his decision, imagine what an experienced law firm can accomplish with an army of talented employees.
You may feel that Firestone is a reputable corporation that will stand behind its product to the bitter end. You may be right. I truly hope that the organization will rally from this crisis and provide a favorable response to every incident. Its media team seems to indicate that this is exactly what the company intends to do. However, before you place all of your faith in the unknown, you may want to look into the recent history of Firestone.
You may want to see how the company responded to the same type of event more than 20 years ago, when the Firestone 500 tire was discovered to be faulty. During an investigation that seems to mirror the current crisis, the company clammed up and for seven years fought the government’s claim that the tires were to blame. You could review legal documents and court cases such as United States vs. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. (455 F. Supp. 1072 D.D. C. 1978), one of several cases involving the recall of the Firestone 500 tires-until that time the largest recall of safety-threatening defective automobile parts in U.S. history.
You could hope, as I do, that this crisis will become the company’s finest hour, but you must plan for it to become the worst.
If an accident occurs in your department, who will shoulder the blame? Will Firestone come to your aid and accept all responsibility for damages caused by the failure of one of its tires? Perhaps it will, but what if it doesn’t? Watching the news or reading the newspaper today reveals that a battle is brewing between Firestone and the Ford Motor Company. “Firestone failure” or “Ford failure”-which phrase will we see become the punch line to a new generation of jokes?
Will we witness this battle in the fire service? Can you imagine a mayor and city council blaming the fire department for not correcting the potential problem? Perhaps it will be a department press conference announcing that the already slashed budget could not withstand the impact of the replacement. Do we really want to experience the public relations nightmare that could accompany such an event?
How would you respond to this potential problem before it becomes a reality? Imagine that the next phone call you receive is from a member of your department reporting a Firestone failure. Develop a response that is broad enough to include considerations from across the country but tailored to meet the needs of your department. You know your budget constraints, the political climate, and the department’s needs better than anyone else. You must decide what the best plan of action would be for your department while, at the same time, keeping the consequences of your actions in mind. Include in your strategy some basic elements that would be considered the “minimum” that would be done.
Making an effort to replace the tires is logical, at least until the full scope of the problem has been revealed and a cause for the failures has been determined. I realize this is easier said than accomplished. A larger municipal department may be able to order new tires for all vehicles at once, having same-day replacement thrown in for good measure. A smaller volunteer department may have to become creative in finding a solution and some alternative sources of revenue. However, a number of tire manufacturers seem to be using the opportunity to increase their public exposure; donating a few sets of “safe” tires for your department might be well within their marketing budget.
TRAIN FOR SUCH AN EMERGENCY
Establish an annual driver’s training program if you do not already have one in place. A large number of programs are designed to provide education to new employees only, allowing valuable skills to erode if they are not reinforced on a regular basis. Collaborating with a commercial driving program can provide some added educational opportunities and the potential to use specially designed vehicles and simulators, allowing drivers to acquire experience in a variety of situations. Emphasize the development of safety skills such as how to control a vehicle after experiencing a blowout (such knowledge would seem to be painfully appropriate at this time).
Follow the official NHTSA recommendations regarding the current recall:
- Wear your seatbelt.
- Ensure that your tires are properly inflated.
- Do not overload your vehicle.
- Choose roads with relatively low speed limits.
- Avoid driving at a high rate of speed (particularly in hot weather).
- Check your tires to be sure there are no visible signs of a problem.
Increase your attention to details in the administrative areas, and document everything. Ensure that your department uses on a daily basis some sort of inspection form that covers areas such as tire pressure, tire condition, and tire deficiencies. Make sure that the individuals completing these forms understand their importance and the fact that the records must remain current. Maintain meticulous records pertaining to purchases and maintenance. Should your tires become involved in a recall, you will need to provide evidence of the initial purchase and replacements. Perform your own research, and stay informed. A number of resources are available to you, and most can be accessed without cost.2
An old adage proclaims, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” To date, the fire service has experienced at least two instances of tire failure associated with Firestone brand tires. In both cases, experience, training, and an indeterminate amount of luck helped to avert a catastrophe. Rest assured that luck will run out. If you are not prepared for that day, shame on you!
Endnotes
- For more specific information, contact the author by e-mail at tjmackay@ aol.com, or write the author in care of Sun City West Fire Fighters Local #3573, 11200 West Wisconsin, Suite 12, Youngtown, AZ 85363.Other NHTSA databases that may be helpful are nhtsa.dot/gov/hot/Firestone/Update.htm and the spreadsheet nhtsa.dot.gov/hot/Firestone/Complaints.xls.
- Among these resources are NHTSA at www.nhtsa.com, the National Association of Emergency Vehicle Technicians at www.naevt.org, the International Association of Fire Fighters at www.iaff.org, and the searchable database of the United States Congress at www.access.gpo.gov/congress/index.html.
THOMAS R. MACKAY, JR., is an engineer/paramedic with the Sun City West (AZ) Fire Department. He is the executive vice president of political affairs for the United Sun Cities Fire Fighters Association and serves as the director of the group’s Educational Foundation.
