For a long while I have been corresponding with Earle Swope, a public safety diver who came as close to experiecing death underwater as anyone I have ever known. I share with the PSDs on the ScubaBoard my recent post to SAR Diver Forum...
Some of our long time Yahoo! Group SAR Diver Forum members may recall an
incident that took place in January 2008 when a public safety diver nearly
drowned during training operations. The diver was wearing a redundant air system
and utilizing a gas switching manifold that allowed him to switch from the
primary air cylinder to the pony bottle without doffing his mask.
On the air switch block a plastic clip was in place to prevent the valve from
accidentally being switched to the reserve position and an orange stem on the
valve would serve as a visual clue that the valve was in the reserve position.
Unfortunately, during this training dive, the equipment was pre-assembled with
the plastic safety clip covering the orange stem and no one noticed that the
valve was in the "reserve" position instead of the standard "dive" position. The
diver began his dive breathing gas from the reserve pony bottle.
The diver was utilizing a digital pressure gauge and began his dive under ice.
Cold air had lowered the cylinder pressure in the primary cylinder to 2700 psi
range. The diver began his dive and minutes later the tender called to the diver
over the communication system for an air check. The diver looked at his digital
gauge and though it appeared that the gauge was still reading 2700 psi, he
incorrectly replied that he had 2100 psi. The diver was certain that he would
have used 600 psi based on the time he had been underwater and further cooling
of the cylinder.
Minutes later, the diver found it difficult to draw air into the full face mask.
Gross motor functions took over and instinctively the diver pulled the plastic
clip off of the reserve gas valve and pushed the plunger up as he had done many
times during training. Not realizing that the plunger had already been in the
reserve position he was surprised when he could not draw another breath of air.
In an effort to identify the problem, the diver went through a mental check list
in his head. During the micro seconds that had elapsed since the problem first
became apparent, he did not have enough air in his lungs to call out for help
over the communication system. Additionally he had begun his assent and return
to the ice hole, so slack in his search line prevented him from giving line
signals to request help from the surface. Essentially he was on his own to
resolve the problem.
The diver knew that moments earlier he had reported 2100 psi in his primary
cylinder. He had difficulty drawing air through the regulator on the full face
mask and after activating his redundant air supply, he still had difficulty
drawing air into the mask. He deduced that the problem had to be with the
regulator supplying his full face mask. His last safety system was an alternate
second stage secured to a strap around his neck. Unfortunately this "back up" to
the "back up" was plumbed to the pony bottle. The diver doffed his full face
mask, placed the regulator's second stage mouthpiece into his mouth and
confirmed that he had drawn his last breath moments earlier.
Still yards away from his point of exit, and under ice, the diver realized that
he would not make it to safety on his own. Out of fear of aspirating water, the
diver made a conscious effort to keep his chin cupped in the palm of his hand
and his nose pinched as he began to lose consciousness. As an experienced EMT he
knew if he aspirated water he would likely die.
On the surface, the line tender called to the diver over the communication
system to take out slack. When there was no response the safety diver
immediately sprang into action instinctively knowing that something was terribly
wrong. An emergency was declared and the team quickly shifted from "training
mode" to "rescue mode." Moments later the lifeless body of Earle Swope was
returned to the surface. Resuscitation efforts began immediately on the ice
shelf.
Captain Earle Swope was the dive team leader, a capable SCUBA instructor, a
Marine who had graduated from the USMC Combat Dive School, a husband, a father,
and a friend of many. He had no pulse, no respirations. Today Earle is a
survivor; thanks to the excellent training he had given his teammates and their
prompt and efficient actions.
Since Earle's near death experience he has been dealing with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. For three and a half years he has used a variety of methods to
overcome the disorder and has found various art forms help put his mind at ease.
He has recently uploaded a video to YouTube that helps describe the incident and
the journey he has been on since his near death experience. The video is nearly
15 minutes in length and it is worth viewing to the very end. It describes the
incident to some degree but more accurate details the challenges that accompany
PTSD. A second video is much shorter and gives credit to those who have assisted
Earle, including the team members who saved his live. Check out the links at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAxh8xsIdMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KiuVbpIYLs&NR=1
Earle will be presenting three "live" performances next week. Yesterday he wrote
me stating, "My primary motivation in creating this piece is to allow the people
around someone going through PTSD to get a glimpse of the crazy $#!t in their
head. The YouTube video doesn't do the installation justice as videos are
linear whereas in the installation, I can have 10 tv's showing different images
and 3 films projected on different walls, with the sound track and a performance
all at the same time to demonstrate how overwhelming and incongruous life and
thought become.
DETAILS ON THE PERFORMANCE:
Where: Pavilion/covered patio immediately east of the Idaho Historical Museum,
610 N Julia Davis Dr., Boise, ID 83702
When: 1st Thursday, September 1, 2011
Performance Times: 7:30, 8:00 & 8:30 pm.
Earle also shared with me that about two months ago when he was creating this
installation and headed to the composer's home for a recording session, he had
an epiphany regarding his near death experience.
He wrote, "I never paniced! I fought it the whole time and ended up suffocating
myself and going unconscious before panic set in, I maintained control the whole
time. The bitch of the fact though is that while I controlled the physical
aspect I kind of lost out on the psycholgical component for the next couple of
years."
Earle also wrote that he was going to double check the details regarding this
incident. The narrative I provide about this incident are from my recollections
speaking with teammates, supervisors and Earle back in 2008.
If there are pertinent details to add, I will pass them along.
Regards and safe diving to all!
Blades
P.S. I hope to see you all at the International Public Safety Diver Conference
in September! Details at:
http://iadrs.org/index.php?pr=CONFERENCE
--- In SAR-Diver@yahoogroups.com, "wbladesr" <bladesrobinson@...> wrote:
>
> Firefighter Nearly Drowns During Dive Exercise
>
> Fire officials say a firefighter is awake and talking after he nearly
> drowned in the Parkcenter Pond Wednesday afternoon. He was
> participating in a monthly training exercise.
>
> At 1:41, Ada County Dispatch got a 911 call, saying the diver was not
> breathing.
>
> It turns out he had not surfaced and had to be pulled from the water.
>
> The other firefighters resuscitated him. An ambulance drove him to
> Saint Alphonsus. CBS 2 Eyewitness News has called the hospital, but
> hasn't been able to learn what condition he's in.
>
> Boise fire officials are debriefing the dive to find out what
> happened. Assistant Fire Marshall Mark Senteno said although this was
> a drill, the danger is real.
>
> "You're in scuba gear, you're fully self-contained, you're fully
> reliant on your air," Senteno said. "If something happens, you're in
> big trouble. But even more than that, the water around here is very
> murky. As soon as you go into a hole in ice diving, within feet, you
> cannot find your way out. You have to be tethered on to a line. If
> you lose that tether, then you're trapped. You can't get out
> yourself."
>
> THE MODERATOR ADDS...
> THE DIVER WAS DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL AND IS OKAY. AN
> INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY AND AS SOON AS FACTS ARE DETERMINED, THE
> INFORMATION WILL BE SHARED WITH MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM.
Some of our long time Yahoo! Group SAR Diver Forum members may recall an
incident that took place in January 2008 when a public safety diver nearly
drowned during training operations. The diver was wearing a redundant air system
and utilizing a gas switching manifold that allowed him to switch from the
primary air cylinder to the pony bottle without doffing his mask.
On the air switch block a plastic clip was in place to prevent the valve from
accidentally being switched to the reserve position and an orange stem on the
valve would serve as a visual clue that the valve was in the reserve position.
Unfortunately, during this training dive, the equipment was pre-assembled with
the plastic safety clip covering the orange stem and no one noticed that the
valve was in the "reserve" position instead of the standard "dive" position. The
diver began his dive breathing gas from the reserve pony bottle.
The diver was utilizing a digital pressure gauge and began his dive under ice.
Cold air had lowered the cylinder pressure in the primary cylinder to 2700 psi
range. The diver began his dive and minutes later the tender called to the diver
over the communication system for an air check. The diver looked at his digital
gauge and though it appeared that the gauge was still reading 2700 psi, he
incorrectly replied that he had 2100 psi. The diver was certain that he would
have used 600 psi based on the time he had been underwater and further cooling
of the cylinder.
Minutes later, the diver found it difficult to draw air into the full face mask.
Gross motor functions took over and instinctively the diver pulled the plastic
clip off of the reserve gas valve and pushed the plunger up as he had done many
times during training. Not realizing that the plunger had already been in the
reserve position he was surprised when he could not draw another breath of air.
In an effort to identify the problem, the diver went through a mental check list
in his head. During the micro seconds that had elapsed since the problem first
became apparent, he did not have enough air in his lungs to call out for help
over the communication system. Additionally he had begun his assent and return
to the ice hole, so slack in his search line prevented him from giving line
signals to request help from the surface. Essentially he was on his own to
resolve the problem.
The diver knew that moments earlier he had reported 2100 psi in his primary
cylinder. He had difficulty drawing air through the regulator on the full face
mask and after activating his redundant air supply, he still had difficulty
drawing air into the mask. He deduced that the problem had to be with the
regulator supplying his full face mask. His last safety system was an alternate
second stage secured to a strap around his neck. Unfortunately this "back up" to
the "back up" was plumbed to the pony bottle. The diver doffed his full face
mask, placed the regulator's second stage mouthpiece into his mouth and
confirmed that he had drawn his last breath moments earlier.
Still yards away from his point of exit, and under ice, the diver realized that
he would not make it to safety on his own. Out of fear of aspirating water, the
diver made a conscious effort to keep his chin cupped in the palm of his hand
and his nose pinched as he began to lose consciousness. As an experienced EMT he
knew if he aspirated water he would likely die.
On the surface, the line tender called to the diver over the communication
system to take out slack. When there was no response the safety diver
immediately sprang into action instinctively knowing that something was terribly
wrong. An emergency was declared and the team quickly shifted from "training
mode" to "rescue mode." Moments later the lifeless body of Earle Swope was
returned to the surface. Resuscitation efforts began immediately on the ice
shelf.
Captain Earle Swope was the dive team leader, a capable SCUBA instructor, a
Marine who had graduated from the USMC Combat Dive School, a husband, a father,
and a friend of many. He had no pulse, no respirations. Today Earle is a
survivor; thanks to the excellent training he had given his teammates and their
prompt and efficient actions.
Since Earle's near death experience he has been dealing with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. For three and a half years he has used a variety of methods to
overcome the disorder and has found various art forms help put his mind at ease.
He has recently uploaded a video to YouTube that helps describe the incident and
the journey he has been on since his near death experience. The video is nearly
15 minutes in length and it is worth viewing to the very end. It describes the
incident to some degree but more accurate details the challenges that accompany
PTSD. A second video is much shorter and gives credit to those who have assisted
Earle, including the team members who saved his live. Check out the links at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAxh8xsIdMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KiuVbpIYLs&NR=1
Earle will be presenting three "live" performances next week. Yesterday he wrote
me stating, "My primary motivation in creating this piece is to allow the people
around someone going through PTSD to get a glimpse of the crazy $#!t in their
head. The YouTube video doesn't do the installation justice as videos are
linear whereas in the installation, I can have 10 tv's showing different images
and 3 films projected on different walls, with the sound track and a performance
all at the same time to demonstrate how overwhelming and incongruous life and
thought become.
DETAILS ON THE PERFORMANCE:
Where: Pavilion/covered patio immediately east of the Idaho Historical Museum,
610 N Julia Davis Dr., Boise, ID 83702
When: 1st Thursday, September 1, 2011
Performance Times: 7:30, 8:00 & 8:30 pm.
Earle also shared with me that about two months ago when he was creating this
installation and headed to the composer's home for a recording session, he had
an epiphany regarding his near death experience.
He wrote, "I never paniced! I fought it the whole time and ended up suffocating
myself and going unconscious before panic set in, I maintained control the whole
time. The bitch of the fact though is that while I controlled the physical
aspect I kind of lost out on the psycholgical component for the next couple of
years."
Earle also wrote that he was going to double check the details regarding this
incident. The narrative I provide about this incident are from my recollections
speaking with teammates, supervisors and Earle back in 2008.
If there are pertinent details to add, I will pass them along.
Regards and safe diving to all!
Blades
P.S. I hope to see you all at the International Public Safety Diver Conference
in September! Details at:
http://iadrs.org/index.php?pr=CONFERENCE
--- In SAR-Diver@yahoogroups.com, "wbladesr" <bladesrobinson@...> wrote:
>
> Firefighter Nearly Drowns During Dive Exercise
>
> Fire officials say a firefighter is awake and talking after he nearly
> drowned in the Parkcenter Pond Wednesday afternoon. He was
> participating in a monthly training exercise.
>
> At 1:41, Ada County Dispatch got a 911 call, saying the diver was not
> breathing.
>
> It turns out he had not surfaced and had to be pulled from the water.
>
> The other firefighters resuscitated him. An ambulance drove him to
> Saint Alphonsus. CBS 2 Eyewitness News has called the hospital, but
> hasn't been able to learn what condition he's in.
>
> Boise fire officials are debriefing the dive to find out what
> happened. Assistant Fire Marshall Mark Senteno said although this was
> a drill, the danger is real.
>
> "You're in scuba gear, you're fully self-contained, you're fully
> reliant on your air," Senteno said. "If something happens, you're in
> big trouble. But even more than that, the water around here is very
> murky. As soon as you go into a hole in ice diving, within feet, you
> cannot find your way out. You have to be tethered on to a line. If
> you lose that tether, then you're trapped. You can't get out
> yourself."
>
> THE MODERATOR ADDS...
> THE DIVER WAS DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL AND IS OKAY. AN
> INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY AND AS SOON AS FACTS ARE DETERMINED, THE
> INFORMATION WILL BE SHARED WITH MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM.
