Bummer

[Greg D.]

Wooo!

I was agreeing with you until you made this statement

I hear what you are saying about this genx, the team I am on is volunteer too, and we done all have the BEST gear, but the best we can afford, and most of us do have dry suits. We dont get called out but ususally till after the fact. But Garys team on the other hand is different, they are all paid LEOs and have vehicles in which they can respnd code, to incedents. They DO get rescue calls and suiting up in a hurry is a must!

 

[genxweb]

But Garys team on the other hand is different, they are all paid LEOs and have vehicles in which they can respnd code, to incedents. They DO get rescue calls and suiting up in a hurry is a must!

See now that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification

 

[BigJetDriver]

Folks,

It is great to get paid for the work, and have an actual budget :11: ! Just as a note of information, though, 98% of all the teams out there in the US are volunteer teams.

Thank God for the people who care enough to BE the volunteers of America! God bless them and keep them all safe!

 

[Gary D.]

Wooo!

I was agreeing with you until you made this statement



Where I live our teams are all volunteers, if no one volunteered then there be no Fire or rescue in my area ( I live in the boonies). Now with that being said there is really no budget so they dive with what they got and I dont think it is the gear that makes the diver. There are some mebers with some very old gear and it works just fine, the gear is well taken care by them and they are excellent divers. I personally use a 7mil farmer john suit, cause not everyone can afford a dry suit. What does it matter how fast you suit up to retrieve a body that has been missing for days that stuck in the dam or how fast you suit up to retrieve a firearm from under the bridge. Now I am not saying it should take them hours to get ready but we can usally get to the site and get our gear on with in 10 minutes, I am a big guy and it takes me prob less then 2 to 3 minutes to get my suit on including boots, gloves, hood.

What I am trying to get at is that there gear should not be a reason to say no! There skills on the other hand would be. Also how many times have you been called to rescue some one from under water that was still alive by the time you get there. Most dive teams unfortunatly do not get called right away especially if it is not in a well known area. So actually most of your calls would be recovery calls.

Ok my rant is over and I prob just started a war but gear aint everything, think about the older divers with a harness a tank no guages no comupters huge masks. They got the job done.

Sorry I didn't make myself clear. This is a department, with a huge diving budget. They initially got just under 10K per diver to set up. That was for gear and training. Their department is 1/3 the size of ours (excluding the jails). with an annual budget that would keep us happy for several years. Their annual budget is almost a blank check.

They have enough money to be outfitted in the best equipment suited for our area but just won’t and they won’t train, together or with anyone else.

We do quite a bit of ice diving and some regs just should not go under the hard stuff no matter what you do to them. Those are the regs they got.

Like us, each one is also issued a vehicle. They all have new pick-ups or SUV’s.

But they are going to make it miserable for us. It is still very salvageable and I, along with the rest of the team is still willing to work with them. It’s just the way they are going about it.

Does that make it a little more clear?

Gary D.

 

[Greg D.]

Was clear the whole time what'dya mean

 

[genxweb]

man some one wants to sponser my team with that type of money we be at every training session and we would bring the snacks. Good luck

 

[Gary D.]

Hi Genxweb; Let me break down your post and I'll explain a little more about our operation.

Originally Posted by genxweb
Wooo!

I was agreeing with you until you made this statement



Where I live our teams are all volunteers, if no one volunteered then there be no Fire or rescue in my area ( I live in the boonies). Now with that being said there is really no budget so they dive with what they got and I dont think it is the gear that makes the diver. It doesn’t but it can sure enhance the safety of a dive. There are some mebers with some very old gear and it works just fine, the gear is well taken care by them and they are excellent divers. I personally use a 7mil farmer john suit, cause not everyone can afford a dry suit. What does it matter how fast you suit up to retrieve a body that has been missing for days that stuck in the dam or how fast you suit up to retrieve a firearm from under the bridge. There it doesn’t matter and we always go by a risk benefit. Now I am not saying it should take them hours to get ready but we can usally get to the site and get our gear on with in 10 minutes, I am a big guy and it takes me prob less then 2 to 3 minutes to get my suit on including boots, gloves, hood.

What I am trying to get at is that there gear should not be a reason to say no! When it presents a hazard to the rest of us it is. There skills on the other hand would be. Between their entire team they have less than 25 dives collectively and I have seen them surface to clear a mask because they can’t do it submerged. They also have 3 mil suits they think will be adequate year around. Also how many times have you been called to rescue some one from under water that was still alive by the time you get there. Dozens of times a year. We are on call 24-7-365 in marked units with our gear already set up. We are a Rescue Team. We get called on any water related accident as soon as it is known, or suspected that everyone is not accounted for. Most dive teams unfortunatly do not get called right away especially if it is not in a well known area. So actually most of your calls would be recovery calls. Why are you assuming that? We are not set up like most volunteer teams. To get on board you need to be a FULL TIME LEO or Fireman and have a take home vehicle suitable for running code.
Ok my rant is over and I prob just started a war but gear aint everything, think about the older divers with a harness a tank no guages no comupters huge masks. They got the job done. I don’t have to think about it and you forgot to add No BC to the list. All I have to do is remember it. Yes we did get the job done. But with today’s training and equipment safety has improved dramatically. Those who don’t take advantage of both should not be part of a team.
Does that clear it up a little? We have made dramatic strides forward and we don’t need to be going backwards.


Gary D.

 

[bridgediver]

I have to agree with Gary. While gear is not the most important it IS right up there. Its great to have volunteer teams but if they are ill equipped and poorly trained they may cause more problems than they're worth. If you're in recovery mode anyway its better to wait for a capable team to perform the op - who cares if it takes hours as long as you reduce the risk to the divers.
Just because a team can't afford something is no excuse to cut corners for diver safety.

 

[skinerd]

sorry for my ignorance but what is a LEO?

 

[El Orans]

sorry for my ignorance but what is a LEO?

Law Enforcement Officer :06: