Emergency Plan

[diverrobs]

My buddy an I had an incident on the weekend (see thread Dive Goes Bad Fast).

We made it to the surface ok but it really showed us that we (the buddies) need to have an agreed upon emergency plan for out of air, free flow and unexpected incidents. So we went out for lunch and talked it out. PADI really doesn't teach that we should have an emergency plan, just what to do in an emergency. I think that buddies should go much further and have a set of rules regarding how they will deal with situations. I realize half this goes out the window when an incident happens but if you have at least talked it out then you are more likely to remember what to do. Here is what we decided. It this good or bad? What do we need to change.

Buddies should alwasy be within 6' so that if there is a problem we can share air. If separated by a distance then make a decision to go for the buddy or the surface quickly. If there is a free flow or out of air emergency or other emergency regarding air, share air. Don't try to breath off a free flowing reg indefinitely, breath on it until you can get your buddies alternate. We decided we would donate our alternates as this eliminates the need for the donator to clear a reg and reduces the chance that they will become anxious due to lack of air while fubbling for a reg. and currently our alternates are on longer hoses. Check air pressure on the shared air! In free flow, turn the free flowing tank off if there is sufficient air in the tank the buddies are breathing off of to do so (>1500lbs). If we are within 20' of the mooring line or any line for that mater and there is more than 2000lbs of air swim back to the line and ascend (indicate to do so by pointing to the line). If the line is not visible do a free ascent. The buddy who the incident occured to will indicate if they feel the need to go to the surface sooner rather than go back to the line, however, the buddy donating will be incharge of the descision at the bottom. The buddy donating will decide when we are calm enough and neutrally bouyant enought to begin to ascend (either at the line or for a free ascent). We will do a safety stop if air permits, if not then straight to the surface at not more than 60' per minute. Inflate BCDs at surface (manually on the free flowed buddy if the tank was turned off). At the surface give each other an OK and the boat an OK (if a boat is present).

Other things: never accept gear from a third party unless it is absolutely necessary, make eye contact frequently, stop on the way up if we need to address something else. Abort sooner than later. If you have a problem or are simply not comfortable with the dive, abort it buy letting your buddy know. There is no bad reason to end a dive, even little things are very important. Know your buddies gear, inside and out so you can deal with stuff under water.

Did I miss something, I know every incident is different but this is what we came up with.

 

[Jasonmh]

...PADI really doesn't teach that we should have an emergency plan, just what to do in an emergency ...

...Check air pressure on the shared air! ...

...We will do a safety stop if air permits, if not then straight to the surface at not more than 60' per minute...

Just a comment - Given some of the statements here, you might want to look up some info on "Rock Bottom" or "Min Gas Reserve". That will help you make sure you have enough gas to get you and your buddy back to the surface, without worrying about if there will be enough gas left for your ascent and safety stop.
Hope that helps.

 

[philmayer]

PADI says that you and your buddy should discuss these matters during your dive planning.

See page 109 of your Open Water Manual.

 

[Blackwood]

If there is a free flow or out of air emergency or other emergency regarding air, share air. Don't try to breath off a free flowing reg indefinitely, breath on it until you can get your buddies alternate.

Agreed.


We decided we would donate our alternates as this eliminates the need for the donator to clear a reg and reduces the chance that they will become anxious due to lack of air while fubbling for a reg.

Why is clearing a reg something to be avoided?

The donor will likely have a better presense of mind at that point. Further, the OOG diver will have been dry for however long it took to reach the donor/get his attention. It seems to me that the OOG getting a working reg should be priority #1, and that means primary donation.

There is absolutely no excuse for fumbling for a reg.

Check air pressure on the shared air!

Agreed.


In free flow, turn the free flowing tank off if there is sufficient air in the tank the buddies are breathing off of to do so (>1500lbs).

I agree that you should shut it down, but what is your goal in doing so? I guess I'm thrown by the "sufficient air" comment.


We will do a safety stop if air permits

There is absolutely no excuse for air not permitting.

See Jasonmh's reply.

Abort sooner than later. If you have a problem or are simply not comfortable with the dive, abort it buy letting your buddy know. There is no bad reason to end a dive, even little things are very important.

Absolutely. Not only is there no bad reason, there is no shame in thumbing a dive.

Know your buddies gear, inside and out so you can deal with stuff under water.

Agreed.

 

[Charlie99]

PADI really doesn't teach that we should have an emergency plan, just what to do in an emergency.

Knowing what to do in an emergency and then actually doing it a pretty darn good plan IMO!

I think that buddies should go much further and have a set of rules regarding how they will deal with situations.

Maybe, maybe not. At some point, having a whole series of complicated rules about what gets done in each circumstance becomes counterproductive.

The real key is developing some instincts and automatic reactions that drive you towards the correct action. Having air right now is number #1. Having enough air to safely abort is #2. Controlling your buoyancy and ascent rate is #3. Take care of those needs and everything else falls into place.

Recalling and performing complicated plans is not something you want to be trying to do during an emergency or incident. IMO, it is best to concentrate on some basic core principles that are needed to safely abort a dive.

Buddies should always be within 6' so that if there is a problem we can share air.

The real rule is that you should always be able to easily reach your buddy's air supply. 6' is an unacceptably large separation distance when swimming at high speed in single file. 15' is acceptable in good visibility if both divers are just slowly meandering looking at stuff. Relative positioning of buddies and how often they look at each other (or exchange light signals) isn't really emergency planning, but simply good buddy practices.

If separated by a distance then make a decision to go for the buddy or the surface quickly.

You should NEVER be in a position to have to make that decision. If your buddy starts getting beyond your comfort range, zoom over, catch up and physically notify him that he's too far away (or positioned such that reaching him is difficult).

You should apply the same sort of philosophy in maintaining contact distance in order to avoid buddy separation. If he gets too far in front, or is swimming too fast, go get him, tell him, and correct the problem before it leads to other problems. Buddy distance and relative positioning is something that is good to discuss after a dive.

If there is a free flow or out of air emergency or other emergency regarding air, share air. Don't try to breath off a free flowing reg indefinitely, breath on it until you can get your buddies alternate.

There are differing opinions on this. Some divers prefer to stay on the freeflowing reg for as long as possible, to minimize that possibility that two divers breathing from the other reg will cause a 2nd freeflow.

In free flow, turn the free flowing tank off if there is sufficient air in the tank the buddies are breathing off of to do so (>1500lbs).

This is of much less importance than establishing buddy contact and starting a controlled abort of the dive. In the heat of the moment, simpler is better. Each of you should never go below the amount of air needed for both of you to safely abort while sharing air, so turning off the valve should be an optional thing done only to avoid the minor nuisance of having to do a VIP on the tank, and to reduce the confusion caused by bubbles (that confusion can also be reduced simply by holding the freeflowing reg off to one side).

If we are within 20' of the mooring line or any line for that mater and there is more than 2000lbs of air swim back to the line and ascend (indicate to do so by pointing to the line). If the line is not visible do a free ascent.

This decision can vary from dive to dive and should be part of the discussion before the dive rather than one-size-fits-all. The base underlying rule is that you should always have available enough air for both you and your buddy to safely abort the dive while sharing air (and obviously he must also have the same reserve). Search on "Rock Bottom".

Agree on rock bottom and the assumptions for that before each dive -- such as whether or not going back to the ascent line is important. If it is, then rockbottom pressure should be calculated to include it.

While it ends up being a bit lower than optimal, an easy-to-remember rule is 100psi per 10' when using an AL80. If you have hit that limit and haven't found the ascent line, then you need to ascend. (You can make whatever assumptions you and your buddy agree upon, but the important thing is to have firmly in your mind a set of rockbottom minimum pressure vs. depth figures). Going below rockbottom calls for an immediate ascent.

We will do a safety stop if air permits, if not then straight to the surface at not more than 60' per minute.

Similar to the concept that when you hit rock bottom you start ascending, I find that there is no reason to decide ahead of time whether or not to do the safety stop in an emergency. If you had rock bottom pressure or more, then you should be able to do it. In any case, ascend to 30', stop momementarily to make sure you are under control, assess your air supply again, then ascend to 15' do your safety stop with the remaining air.

I suggest calculating rockbottom for 30fpm and trying to hold to that unless you are below your new rockbottom (for the shallower depth) as you ascend. You should, unless you are breathing faster than the rate assumed for rockbottom, find that you will have enough air for a safety stop, even with an ascent rate of 30fpm.

If you DO blow the ascent rate, then stopping momentarily at 30' and then slowly going to a 15' safety stop will be much safer than if you continue at high speed to the surface.

Did I miss something.

Being a good buddy means being there for your buddy. In a lot of incidents a diver having medical problems or equipment problems doesn't declare an emergency until too late. In a lot of cases, the buddy with problems will still respond with "OK".

Err on the side of caution and take a good hard look at your buddy if something just doesn't seem right.

 

[TSandM]

I agree that hard and fast rules are hard to remember and may not be applicable in all situations. Basic principles and practiced skills will allow a thinking diver to cope with most all situations.

I'm with Blackwood, though -- Why not donate the primary? It's a working reg and you know it, and furthermore, you know where it is. The person coming to you has been out of gas for who knows how long and probably needs it NOW (psychologically if not physically yet). You, on the other hand, have been peacefully breathing off your reg. If you can't do without gas for a few seconds while you acquire and clear your backup reg, you need to practice switching regulators more often. If the backup reg is on a necklace, there is no fumbling for it, either.

Six feet of separation is a pretty comfortable swimming distance in low viz diving, but where losing your buddy is less likely, you may be able to open up a bit more. I did a simulated OOG swim to my husband in Maui of about 25 feet, and it was quite doable, although I concluded I really didn't want to be that far away in general, and try to keep it more like ten to 15. In single file, I like to stay much closer, because it's going to be more difficult to reach the person in front of you for gas. So there are variables that may change what you do, but the bottom line is that both partners need to be comfortable with the separation, and either may signal the other to close it up if they aren't happy.

Anyway, minor things. The important thing was that the experience made you guys think about the "what ifs" and do some planning. Do read the rock bottom material, or the essay on gas management at the alohashoredivers.com site. It's very good information. And practice sharing gas on a reasonably regular basis. It's a critical skill.

 

[lowviz]

All good advice, just another thought: sirens should go off in your head if you find youself out of breath underwater (like trying to follow someone). Your safety margin is highly compromised or gone when you are in this condition. Try it. Switch back and forth between your secondaries in shallow water when you are comfortable and again after finning as hard as you can for a minute. You two are on the right track.

 

[diverrobs]

I will read Rock Bottom. I think donating the Primary is the way to go. My buddy is not so sure yet. In our emergency, I had already used my altenate once in the emergency so it was not where it should have been and it took 10 seconds to get it and put it in and clear it and get my first breath. This would have nearly killed my buddy with the out of air situation so I really had no choice but to donate my primary and I completely see the logic in donating the primary. I am going to order longer hoses for both of us in the next couple of weeks and then encourage him to donate the primary.


Thanks for all the advice. I am glad to know we are on the right track.

 

[diverrobs]

I like the Rock Bottom chart. The cert agencies should do something like this to take under with you. I have printed the chart with the data for Al80s and HP100s, (currently the two tank sizes I use). I am going to laminate 2 of them (one for me and one for my buddy). I will stick them on my gear to reference while under water and for pre-dive planning. This is a good addition to a dive table for planning! It should be taught in open water training! Why get into a situation where you do not have enough air to make the stop! With all the multi level-multiple dive situations that most divers are now doing (especially on dive vacations) we are pushing so close to limits all the time that blowing a saftey stop is dangerous. In my first week of diving I ended up with very high pressure group once and was right at the no-decompression limit on the PADI table. We were at 60ft and turned at 750psi (below Rock Bottom) and I most definitely needed a safety stop but obviously did not have the air to do it(in and emergency situation sharing air). This will now be part of my dive planning!!

 

[Ber Rabbit]

In our emergency, I had already used my altenate once in the emergency so it was not where it should have been and it took 10 seconds to get it and put it in and clear it and get my first breath.

A necklaced regulator should remain necklaced even when you're using it. When you change back to your primary it should still be hanging around your neck. It only takes a couple seconds to check the location of your secondary after switching back to the primary, make it a habit to ensure the proper stowing of any gear you have used. When diving a secondary that's not on a necklace you should regularly feel for it during your dive to make sure it hasn't slipped out of its holder. I can't tell you how many "dangling octos" I've seen and when you point it out the diver doesn't even realize the thing has escaped. THAT doesn't bode well in the situational awareness department.

You should have seen your buddy coming off the other divers reg so you had time to get a breath before handing off the primary. That means you've probably got 40-60 seconds of bubbling before you really need another breath and that's more than enough time to locate and clear a regulator. If you're stressing about not having air in 10 seconds you should do some work with the reg out of your mouth while you blow tiny bubbles. Some snorkeling and freediving work may help build comfort here as well.

Diving is all about learning and you're on the right track.

Ber :lilbunny: