By: Brian E. Burkhardt; Chaplain, Retired Greenfield Firefighter/Paramedic, City of Greenfield Fire Territory Indiana, USA.

Our job as a firefighter, engineer, officer and commander is hard enough without having equipment failure.  We can prevent many of these failures by preventive, continuous and routine maintenance.  We know how hard it is when we cannot respond because our apparatus is out of service. We also do not provide the proper level of service to our community. Here’s a simple and useful system to follow and implement:

Be WISE.  

W- Walk around the apparatus.

I- Inspect the apparatus.

S- Start and run all the systems.

E- Operate all the Equipment.  

Let’s look at each letter on an individual level.

W - Walking around the apparatus we can tell if there are any major problems. Is there a leak of fluid, a smell or odor, a sound, or anything that was not there the last time we operated the apparatus.  During this walk around we are using not just our eyes but all of our senses to look for issues to address.

I - Inspection of the apparatus.  This is when we start looking at all the systems individually.  Checking the systems before we operate them is an important step.  We need to check all the fluids and belts. We want to check all the possible areas of failure before we start the equipment.  

S - Start and operate each system. Drive train, Pump, Emergency warning system, Doors, Windows, Compartment doors.

E - Operate all Equipment. If it has moving parts, operate them. It if runs, start it. If it requires fuel or oil check and fill them, If you find a problem or it does not work. Fix it or mark it out of service and notify the person in charge that can get it fixed.  

Note that we need to keep a journal of the maintenance we preform and any problems we find.  This can help us recognize failures that occur more than once.  When you journal, list the date, time, and who was performing the apparatus check. If you fix repair or remove something from service document it.

Only document facts not opinions. This journal is where your are going to look in the future to see if there is a common problem that occurs on a regular time schedule or after a common emergency.  

If you have a maintenance program, review and update it at least once a year. If you do not have a program it is never to late to start!  

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