Incident at pool today

[aboalreem]

Okay, I am now surrounded by incidents hahaha.

Playing around at pool with buddy, throwing around torpedo.

Victim giant strides in with 10lbs, (proper weight should have been 2-4lbs), and tank strap not secured. Victim is inexperienced diver with 12 or so dives. Victim is strong swimmer. I do not not know he is overweighted or that the strap is not secured at the time of the incident, nor did I know he was about to enter the pool.

Victim surfaces, but fails to maintain buoyancy at surface. Is able to breath, but is obviously struggling.

I surface, order him to inflate bc from distance. Victim complies, but is still struggling. I once again order him to inflate. Victim put reg in mouth and descends. I follow and signal ok to him. He signals ok back. (I don't believe him, but at least this show me he is calm). I approach cautiously, he is ok. I order him to inflate bc. He plays with it. I take the inflator and put some air in. He does not get positive. I realize he is overweighted big time and remove his belt after dumping all the air (we are kneeling on the bottom). I signal ok. He signals back, I thumb it. Victim bolts to surface. One second I am looking at him, the next he is at the surface. I surface at proper ascent rate.

On the surface, I order him to inflate bc. Victim complies. He asks why I dropped weight belt. I mention that he is overweighted. He states that he overweighted to simulate saltwater conditions. I mention to him that saltwater is more buoyant and that is why one would wear more weight on saltwater dives. He says he understands, but I am not sure that he really does. I tell him to he really should be more careful about his ascent rates.

Victim descends again. I follow.

Victims tank slips almost all the way off bc. I see he is not panicing by looking at his eyes and body. He is holding tank by the valve, and kicking a little, but his kicks are not violent, and he is not bolting.

I dump his air again, and get us on the bottom. I am able to secure his tank at depth. It appears that he did not properly thread the strap properly through the buckle. I signal ok, and he signals back.

I watch him like a hawk the rest of the time at the pool, but he performs fine. Well, the guy with the snorkel that kept laying on the bottom also got some attention (for some reason, if you have a snorkel, MOF, or unsecured octo, I am going to watch you!!)

Analysis: IMHO even without my assistance, there would not have been an injury due to the depth and size of the pool, and the swimming ability of the victim. The only thing that really got my heart pumping was that ascent of his.

Lessons learned:


BUDDY CHECK BUDDY CHECK! Ok, so I could not have buddy checked him, since I did not know he was there. But if he would have had a buddy, a buddy check would have completely resolved this.

Watch those tank straps. Wet them and check them.

Even a completely calm diver can bolt. You guys can help me monday quarterback this one. Should I have grabbed him? My first reaction was to let him go. I was neutral, but I could have exhaled and grabbed him I guess.

Check for overweighting. I think it would be easy to just casually ask someone how much weight they are using.

If he looks like a newbie, keep an eye on him. As soon as he entered the water, he bicycled and I started watching. That is when the incident started.

Take rescue class! I felt just like I was in rescue class when this happened. I didn't feel stressed or pissed, just reaction.



Thanks again for a great rescue class! I hope this is the last incident I face.

PS> I did a self rescue of sort at the lake this last weekend.

Shot SMB on plane (man those things move faster than I thought!!)
Cheap *** reel tangles
Thumb ensnares
Let reel go and give firm yank with thumb
Witnesses state I ascended maybe two feet during the launch. Computer profiles show 3 feet.
I float down a little and flood mask from laughing too hard
Slow ascent to surface and retrieve SMB
Descend to plane and watch other in group clear masks after laughing too hard.

I am not sure what is your status in terms of helping the diver? are you certified to be helping....if not why you did not get some one at the shop to help the person who is insured and certifed pro!!!just cerious

 

[pacificgal]

Unless he was at the bottom with a snorkel, rather than a reg? That would get my attention...

 

[vladimir]

Victim surfaces, but fails to maintain buoyancy at surface. Is able to breath...He signals ok back. (I don't believe him, but at least this show me he is calm).

Close call! Sounds like the victim was lucky you were nearby. He might have sunk to the bottom (12 feet?) with nothing but a regulator and a full tank to sustain him. Nice work!

 

[khacken]

I am not sure what is your status in terms of helping the diver? are you certified to be helping....if not why you did not get some one at the shop to help the person who is insured and certifed pro!!!just cerious

Rescue certified. Situation did not require more assistance.

 

[khacken]

I'm a rescue diver too and I would have handled the guy differently. I would have given him a thumbs up and at the surface said, "hey buddy, your tank strap is slipping, why don't we move to the shallow end and fix it?" Then I would have gently touched his inflator hose and shot some air in his BC. You can take a diver who is not in distress and make them that way.

I would disagree with that response. Moving the victim could have caused the tank to go all the way out. Then I would be dealing with an OOA.

Not to be critical, but just because you are a rescue diver doesn't mean you need to be looking for a victim.

Correct, but I would assume that someone holding onto their tank and trying to get my attention wants help.

 

[vladimir]

Victim giant strides in with 10lbs, (proper weight should have been 2-4lbs), and tank strap not secured. Victim is inexperienced diver with 12 or so dives. Victim is strong swimmer.
:blinking:
Victim surfaces, but fails to maintain buoyancy at surface. Is able to breath, but is obviously struggling.

I surface, order him to inflate bc from distance. Victim complies, but is still struggling. I once again order him to inflate. Victim put reg in mouth and descends. I follow and signal ok to him. He signals ok back. (I don't believe him, but at least this show me he is calm). I approach cautiously, he is ok. I order him to inflate bc. He plays with it. I take the inflator and put some air in. He does not get positive. I realize he is overweighted big time and remove his belt after dumping all the air (we are kneeling on the bottom). I signal ok. He signals back, I thumb it. Victim bolts to surface. One second I am looking at him, the next he is at the surface. I surface at proper ascent rate.

On the surface, I order him to inflate bc. Victim complies. He asks why I dropped weight belt. I mention that he is overweighted. He states that he overweighted to simulate saltwater conditions. I mention to him that saltwater is more buoyant and that is why one would wear more weight on saltwater dives. He says he understands, but I am not sure that he really does. I tell him to he really should be more careful about his ascent rates.

Victim descends again. I follow.

Victims tank slips almost all the way off bc.

Sgt Joe Friday, rescue diver.

 

[TheRedHead]

I would disagree with that response. Moving the victim could have caused the tank to go all the way out. Then I would be dealing with an OOA.

But the point is that he diver was certified and you had already dropped his weight and sent him to the surface. He wasn't in an obvious panic and there was no need for 75% of what you did. You have to treat people respectfully. You don't really want to be Sgt. Joe Friday, Rescue Diver.

 

[khacken]

But the point is that he diver was certified and you had already dropped his weight and sent him to the surface. He wasn't in an obvious panic and there was no need for 75% of what you did. You have to treat people respectfully. You don't really want to be Sgt. Joe Friday, Rescue Diver.

I don't think I disrespected him at all. If the situation were reversed, I would appreciate the help.

 

[TheRedHead]

I don't think I disrespected him at all. If the situation were reversed, I would appreciate the help.

You dropped the poor guy's weight at the bottom of the pool and he makes a rapid ascent. Maybe there is a connection there? If you had done that to me, I think I would want to murder you.

 

[khacken]

Are you saying that I caused the rapid ascent? That is a mighty big accusation.