WHY DO DEPARTMENT DIVE TEAMS NEED PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING? 

It is 4 am when the dispatcher turns in the call for a car overturned in the river.  Two local firemen who are also divers jump in a pick up truck loaded with the dive gear from yesterday's recreational diving and drive to the scene.  Upon arriving they immediately suit up and jump into the river to effect rescue.  As soon as they step into the water they notice that the current is much faster than they expected and that the water is much colder.  The first diver uses the current and drifts to the car and grabs on, the second diver follows.  The first diver crawls inside the open passenger door to search for the victim.  As the second diver reaches the car his recreational gear becomes entangled.  His weight causes the car to shift and roll in the current.  He travels down stream in the current and catches an overhanging tree branch.  The first diver is effectively trapped in the car only three feet from the surface.  When public safety officials arrive they immediately commence a surface rescue procedure to retrieve the second would be rescuer from the tree branch.  They also called for a dive team from a neighboring county to rescue the diver in the car.  Unfortunately by the time the dive team arrives their rescue is a body recovery.  The driver of the car comes back to the scene with the Highway Patrol Officer just as they pull the body of the first diver from the water.  The driver had escaped from the vehicle and walked to a neighboring house to call the Highway Patrol.

The efforts of these well intentioned but under trained divers resulted in a needless fatality and putting numerous other professionals at needless risk.  The scene portrayed here is fiction, but, scenes like it happen every year.  The reason is not really a lack of training, that is a symptom.  The real reason is the failure of administrators to realize the need for specialized training and equipment in the field of Public Safety Diving.

Before starting a dive team, each department must weigh the cost of accomplishing the task properly versus the benefit for the community.  What will your community gain?  Are other resources available to accomplish the same goals.  If you decide a dive team is necessary then please decide to adequately equip and train that team.  This pamphlet will give you the questions you should ask about the training you will receive.

Do you need Public Safety Training?

So how do you select and understand the type of training you are getting?

How do you qualify the instructor?