Michelin North America Inc. announced yesterday that it is donating round-the-clock, on-site service and up to $250,000 in tires for emergency vehicles of all types involved in the ground-zero recovery efforts on-going in lower Manhattan. The donation was communicated this morning to the Office of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and to the commissioner of support services, who is heading up the operation.

"It is simply the right thing to do," Michelin North America chairman & president Jim Micali said. "We are committed to providing the emergency crews working in the Manhattan crisis area the full resources and expertise of our company."

Specifically, Michelin's donation will include an on-site service truck around-the-clock in the ground-zero area which will service all emergency vehicles involved in the recovery area, and up to $250,000 in Michelin tires to any emergency vehicle in the crisis area as necessary to maintain the operation of the vehicle.

Micali said Michelin expects to service and provide tires for heavy-construction and earthmover equipment as well as fire engines, ambulances, police cars and a variety of other support vehicles.