Emergency Contact Numbers

[Rred]

Before there was a public internet, I used to have the numbers of every chamber within 200 miles (reasonable helicopter range) on the cover of my dive log. And when DAN got rolling, I added their number as well. These days?
Make haste slowly! As the folks at DAN point out, chambers are not always staffed 24x7. Chambers go down for maintenance. Chambers get filled and cannot take new patients. Military and research chambers will not take members of the public--unless someone like DAN is calling them and begging extreme need.
So, CALL DAN FIRST. (Well, second, right after 911.) By all means let any first responders do their work, but even while you are waiting for the first responders, DAN will be co-ordinating the most appropriate chamber access for you.

There was a post a couple of months ago from someone who literally was rediverted while IN THE HELO because the chamber they were headed for, couldn't take them.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Before there was a public internet, I used to have the numbers of every chamber within 200 miles (reasonable helicopter range) on the cover of my dive log. And when DAN got rolling, I added their number as well. These days?
Make haste slowly! As the folks at DAN point out, chambers are not always staffed 24x7. Chambers go down for maintenance. Chambers get filled and cannot take new patients. Military and research chambers will not take members of the public--unless someone like DAN is calling them and begging extreme need.
So, CALL DAN FIRST. (Well, second, right after 911.) By all means let any first responders do their work, but even while you are waiting for the first responders, DAN will be co-ordinating the most appropriate chamber access for you.

There was a post a couple of months ago from someone who literally was rediverted while IN THE HELO because the chamber they were headed for, couldn't take them.

No!

For an acute emergency diving casualty -Calling DAN first, they will tell you to hang-up and call 911 to report the incident instead. . .

In Southern California (and only here in Southern Calif), calling 911 for mainland coastal or inland diving accidents generates the County Government EMS response. For Offshore Southern Calif, a call on marine VHF Ch16 to the US Coast Guard generates the response of either Coast Guard or County EMS medevac resources.

In either case the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is an integral part of the County EMS system 24/7, exclusively for the emergency treatment of civilian recreational dive casualties.

 

[Rred]

Maybe I should have used a bigger font, kev? So let me repeat what I said:

"CALL DAN FIRST. (Well, second, right after 911.)"

And given the scarcity of cell phones and marine radios, if you really want to do things properly, the ship's radio officer should be calling in a MAYDAY or PAN PAN to the USCG, while one other person calls 911 on a cell phone, and a second person calls DAN, all simultaneously.

As a first responder, you learn to pick out one face in the crowd and using a command voice say "YOU! CALL 911" and then you, as a responder, become the incident commander (until and unless a more experienced one responds) and direct all available resources into simultaneous use. You don't become operational (hands-on, i.e. applying first aid) unless there's no one else to do that job, you direct the entire circus because every circus needs a ringmaster. That's part of NIMS, the National Incident Management System training that is uniformly applied across all response agencies in the US these days.

Just in case you really need the whole textbook "correct" procedure. And ignoring all the possible complications and permutations that can be added. The incident commander, nominally the ship's captain, would then also start issuing instructions to secure the vessel for a possible helicopter medevac, which would mean clearing the decks of all loose equipment, securing any possible obstructions, and more. As well as laying in a course toward the most likely place rescue was coming from, and after confirming that with rescue personnel, bringing the vessel up to full speed to approach them. Which again means really securing anything like divers or dive gear for a potentially rough ride.

All part and parcel of why a captain earns their pay. Things a passenger never routinely considers.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Maybe I should have used a bigger font, kev? So let me repeat what I said:

"CALL DAN FIRST. (Well, second, right after 911.)"

And given the scarcity of cell phones and marine radios, if you really want to do things properly, the ship's radio officer should be calling in a MAYDAY or PAN PAN to the USCG, while one other person calls 911 on a cell phone, and a second person calls DAN, all simultaneously.

As a first responder, you learn to pick out one face in the crowd and using a command voice say "YOU! CALL 911" and then you, as a responder, become the incident commander (until and unless a more experienced one responds) and direct all available resources into simultaneous use. You don't become operational (hands-on, i.e. applying first aid) unless there's no one else to do that job, you direct the entire circus because every circus needs a ringmaster. That's part of NIMS, the National Incident Management System training that is uniformly applied across all response agencies in the US these days.

Just in case you really need the whole textbook "correct" procedure. And ignoring all the possible complications and permutations that can be added. The incident commander, nominally the ship's captain, would then also start issuing instructions to secure the vessel for a possible helicopter medevac, which would mean clearing the decks of all loose equipment, securing any possible obstructions, and more. As well as laying in a course toward the most likely place rescue was coming from, and after confirming that with rescue personnel, bringing the vessel up to full speed to approach them. Which again means really securing anything like divers or dive gear for a potentially rough ride.

All part and parcel of why a captain earns their pay. Things a passenger never routinely considers.

No!

(In normal font and simple objective direction), For correct protocol and proper response. . .

Here in Southern California for Dive Accident Emergencies -and only in Southern California:

Call 911 for mainland coastal and inland incidents; otherwise call USCG on VHF Ch.16 for offshore response.

The only reason to call DAN is long afterward to start the insurance reimbursement process.

Do you understand @Rred ?

---------
The point is that here in Southern California -and only in Southern Calif- we don't require DAN to find and coordinate Recompression Chamber availability since we already have one -The Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber- as part of the County Gov't EMS system standing by 24/7 & 365. If unavailable (unlikely since the Catalina Chamber only treats diving casualties which in terms of general accidents and emergency triage are relatively rare occurrences), Los Angeles County Medical Alert Center coordinates with other back-up facilities on the the mainland.

Also the subject of this thread is Emergency Contact Numbers; the reason that @Ken Kurtis updated the list is to provide additional phone consult resources for latent or later developing acute symptoms of DCS (i.e. Post-Dive symptoms manifesting hours later). But for immediate medical hyper-acute effects and Status Quo Life Threatening Emergencies, it's always best procedure to call 911 or VHF Ch16 if offshore.

 

[Rred]

If you are saying that in your specific area, the 911 dispatch and USCG have their act together and there's no need to call anyone else...that's just great. Folks looking to apply the concept to other geographies may find that's not always the case. i.e., USCG radio watch standers may be civilian (USCGAux) volunteers, alerting a chamber, confirming it is available, and dispatching a rescue team, all at once, may fall between the lines.

In the rest of the world... I actually had a 911 operator tell me to put a tourniquet around the neck (!) if a head wound didn't stop bleeding. At which point I just said thank you, I have to put down the phone now.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Bump. . .

. . .

I confirm/update the Emergency Contact numbers on our website each year. Some have changed, especially since this thread was started 10 years ago. Here's a link to my web page with the correct (as of 11/26/17) numbers: Emergency Numbers .

Here's the text:

IF YOU'RE ON THE WATER IN A BOAT (PRIVATE & COMMERCIAL) AND HAVE A DIVING EMERGENCY
WHICH REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE OR EVACUATION:
MARINE RADIO: Channel 16.
Call for the Coast Guard, state the vessel name and location, declare that you have a scuba diving emergency which requires immediate assistance. When USCG responds, start with the condition opf your diver in distress: conscious or unconscious and breathing or non-breathing. USCG will move you to another channel, get more detailed info, and dispatch help. (It takes a while, so try to be as patient and calm as possible given the circumstances.) The L.A County Lifeguards and the Chamber (as well as some other agencies) also monitor Channel 16 and should also hear what's going on.
If radio contact is not an option and you have a cell phone with service, you can also use the emergency numbers listed below.

IF YOU THINK YOU'RE BENT OR EMBOLI ZED
• • • SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ONLY • • •
Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber: 310/510-1053 (emergencies only)

L.A. County Medic Alert Center: 866/940-4401, then push "1"and tell the operator you have a scuba diving emergency
and need to speak to the hyperbaric physician on call

UCLA Hyperbaric Center (Gonda Wound Care Center): 310/794-9014
(AFTER HOURS - 310/825-6301 and ask to page the on-call hyperbaric physician)

• • • EVERYWHERE ELSE INCLUDING INTERNATIONAL • • •
D.A.N. (Divers Alert Network): 919/684-9111 (they will accept a collect call from anywhere in the world)
Also: 800/326-3822

NON-EMERGENCY DIVING MEDICINE QUESTIONS
Catalina Chamber: 310/510-4020
D.A.N.: 800/446-2671 (M-F, 8:00A-8:00PM ET)

OTHER EMERGENCY NUMBERS
D.A.N. Travel Assist (non-diving emergencies): 866/330-7984