PADI Prioritizes Public Safety With Introduction of New Program
New standardized Public Safety Diver course meets needs of membership and local agencies.
As the most respected and sought after dive professionals in the world, PADI Members often receive requests from local police, fire and other agencies to provide specialized public safety diver training. While PADI Instructors in the public safety field have been teaching PADI Public Safety Diver for decades as a distinctive specialty course, the demand from PADI Members for a standardized course has been on the rise. To meet the needs of the membership, PADI is launching the PADI Public Safety Diver course.
“It’s only natural that public agencies -- including police, fire and other emergency management services – would turn to PADI Professionals, the world’s leaders in diver training and education, for public safety diver training,” says James Morgan, PADI Americas Vice President of Training. “By standardizing this course, qualified PADI Instructors can now quickly respond to agency demands and public needs. And, since the PADI Public Safety Diver course was designed and tested by PADI Instructors currently active in the public safety diving field – professionals with years of experience familiar with what it takes to safely and effectively fulfill this critical role – public agencies can feel confident that their staff will receive the best and most comprehensive training in the industry.”
Public safety diving is a specialized field in which divers perform a variety of services critical for local communities. These activities include rescue, evidence and body recovery, underwater inspections and more. These divers typically couple their experience in police, fire and related fields with specialized dive training to carry out these activities in a safe and efficient manner.
“Only PADI Instructors with a current background and affiliation within the public safety field will qualify to teach the PADI Public Safety Diver course,” continues Morgan. “However, for those who are qualified, they now have a complete curriculum to offer and are supported by the strength and recognition of the PADI brand.”
The PADI Public Safety Diver course familiarizes new and potential public safety divers with the skills, knowledge, planning, procedures, techniques and hazards of public safety diving. The curriculum includes key public safety diving topics such as specialized equipment, scene handling, communication procedures, search patterns, witness handling, victim and self rescue techniques, as well as many other topics. Water skills include a variety of search patterns as well as team diving roles as primary diver, safety diver, tender, 90 percent diver and supervisor. The program provides candidates proven techniques that are used in the field today. In addition, the PADI Public Safety Diver course meets and addresses important National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) guidelines found in NFPA 1006 and 1670.
In addition to an instructor guide, the PADI Safety Diver course also offers lesson guides and a series of forms to help PADI Instructors with instruction. Student divers also have key checklists to use in the field when conducting public safety diving operations. For more information regarding the PADI Public Safety Diver course and program requirements, please contact a PADI Americas Educational Consultant by calling 800 729 7234 (US and Canada), +1 949 858 7234, ext. 2540.
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