HAY RIVER - James Duggan's job revolves around tires.

The 23-year-old works at Tire North Ltd., the Kal Tire associate dealer in Hay River.

James Duggan is a tire technician at Tire North Ltd. in Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

The tire technician can inspect, replace or fix any type of tire.

"Any tire out there, whether from a lawn mower or a rock truck," he said.

Duggan, who has been working at Tire North Ltd. for about a year, said safety for customers is the most important part of his job.

When people bring in their vehicles, the tire pressure has often been low for a while, he noted. "People don't check their tire pressure enough."

His advice is for vehicle owners to check tire pressure regularly, at least once every two weeks.

Along with safer motoring, proper tire pressure will also mean improved gas mileage and more even wear on tires, he said.

In his time at Tire North, Duggan has removed many foreign objects from tires.

The largest was a nail remover, a small crowbar-type of object, he recalled. "The whole thing went right into the tire."

Aside from that, he has also seen flats caused by nails, screws, pieces of metal and sharp rocks.

Duggan noted unpaved highways in the NWT, such as the section of Highway 5 to Fort Smith, can be really hard on tires.

A worn-out tire is more susceptible to being punctured, he added.

Duggan said a lot of the work at Tire North comes from the commercial sector, particularly large trucks when the ice roads are open.

Working outside in the winter is one of the most interesting parts of the job, he said. "There's nothing like working a 12-hour day in minus 35 degree weather, and coming to work and seeing trucks lined up with flats."

Tire technicians at Tire North occasionally are called to service vehicles on the highway, up to about 200 kilometres from Hay River.

Back in his native Nova Scotia, Duggan studied as an industrial instrumentation technician at Marconi Community College in Sydney, and came to the North looking for a job in his field.

Instead, he got the job at Tire North and found he really enjoys the work.

In particular, he likes the physical aspect of being a tire technician.

"A physical job will help your day go by quicker," he noted.

And, he likes that much of the work is outdoors.

"We get to work outdoors a lot," he said. "We do a lot of service on heavy trucks."

Plus, the job pays well and provides many hours.

Duggan also had experience working with tires when he first got out of high school in Nova Scotia. He worked changing tires at Canadian Tire.