This weekend past I attended the annual DAN BBQ at Portage Quarry in Bowling Green Ohio. As usual it was great time. Dan Orr was there again this year and I got to have a couple very nice conversations with him. Saturday evening he gave a presentation on diver fatalities and also made a request of those attending and asked us to spread the word that if you know of a diver accident or fatality, to take a few minutes and call or email DAN with the info. They are not tied in to all the police, fire, and rescue sources and often do not hear of events involving diver injury. There were two fatalities in Ohio recently at Gilboa and White Star, and DAN only knew about them because a member of the Ohio Council called and let them know.
They do watch this board but cannot be on it at all times. Sometimes reports are discussed and then get dropped to the back of the line and not many see them. So it was specifically requested by Dan Orr that we, the diving community, inform them when an accident happens.
We were also informed that the DAN Annual Diving Fatality Report that is issued is going to undergo some changes. For one it is not going to be issued every year in as detailed a format as has been done. The reason for this is that compiling the report is a huge undertaking. As is putting it out. The result of this is that there is little to no time TO ANALYZE the information in detail. As a result there will be some summary report issued and a detailed one every two or three years (that is still being decided) that will allow for detailed and more indepth analysis of the accidents that will hopefully lead to more concrete recommendations for reducing accidents and fatalities.
Another item I found intertesting was in his presentation were two clear spikes in diver fatalities as related to years certified. The spikes occurred in divers certed for one year or less and in those certified for 10 years. It was noted that the ten year figure is in reality meaningless because the certification means nothing because of data that is missing. Items like how long it has been since the diver was actually in the water, how often, what condition his/her gear was in and how familiar they were with it, and other details that may shed some light on this.
This is one of the things they want to look at more closely as this info is often missing when they get a report. So if you do report an accident try to keep this in mind. It's these kinds of details that will help them fill in some gaps. Thanks.
They do watch this board but cannot be on it at all times. Sometimes reports are discussed and then get dropped to the back of the line and not many see them. So it was specifically requested by Dan Orr that we, the diving community, inform them when an accident happens.
We were also informed that the DAN Annual Diving Fatality Report that is issued is going to undergo some changes. For one it is not going to be issued every year in as detailed a format as has been done. The reason for this is that compiling the report is a huge undertaking. As is putting it out. The result of this is that there is little to no time TO ANALYZE the information in detail. As a result there will be some summary report issued and a detailed one every two or three years (that is still being decided) that will allow for detailed and more indepth analysis of the accidents that will hopefully lead to more concrete recommendations for reducing accidents and fatalities.
Another item I found intertesting was in his presentation were two clear spikes in diver fatalities as related to years certified. The spikes occurred in divers certed for one year or less and in those certified for 10 years. It was noted that the ten year figure is in reality meaningless because the certification means nothing because of data that is missing. Items like how long it has been since the diver was actually in the water, how often, what condition his/her gear was in and how familiar they were with it, and other details that may shed some light on this.
This is one of the things they want to look at more closely as this info is often missing when they get a report. So if you do report an accident try to keep this in mind. It's these kinds of details that will help them fill in some gaps. Thanks.
