Look for holes and wear spots

• The two elements that make a fire shelter work are its abilities to slow and prevent air exchange between you and the possibly toxic firestorm outside and its ability to insulate you from extreme heat. It is made up of several types of materials, placed in layers, to both insulate and reflect away heat. Your inspection should focus on whether any layer is compromised, either through exposure to direct flame or from a scratch, badly enough to cause other layers to also fail under stress.
  
  Without removing the shelter from its vinyl bag, look closely at the bag and at the pull tab and quick release rings. If the rings or tab are disconnected or broken, you should assume that the shelter has been taken out of its bag at some point and it should be removed from service.
  
  The edges of the folded shelter, especially along the folds themselves, are the most likely areas to look for wear. Still with the shelter inside its bag, look closely at those areas. Look for places where the inner woven fiberglass might have abraded away some of the exterior reflective foil. Look closely, as well, at the vinyl bag itself. If it looks discolored or you can see bits of debris anywhere inside, this is another sign that the foil is breaking down and abrading away. Shelters with this kind of damage should be taken out of service.
  
  Look for tears along the folded edges and other holes in the portions of the shelter that you can see through the vinyl. Tears longer than 1/4 inch or holes bigger than a dime are cause to take the shelter out of service.
  
  

When to inspect

• The professional firefighter standard for shelter inspection is the beginning and end of every fire season and every 14 days in between. There are circumstances under which you would want to inspect before your calendar calls for it. Has your shelter been stored or moved under adverse conditions? Has it been near sharp objects or left out of its protective case? According to Tony Petrelli of U.S. Forest Service, most, if not all, instances of tears and loosened seams in a 2006 study were found after at least one deployment. Do a close inspection after every deployment of the fire shelter. If you have used the shelter--or even deployed it just for practice--it may be in need of replacement.