New Set-up Recreational and Rescue Diving

[joemamswetsuit]

I take it you are part of a volunteer force and are shouldering the cost of these items yourself. I know a few of the PSD team divers in the Atlanta area and the stuff they use for "work" never crosses over into rec. Not that it can not be done but computers, suits, FFMs and all other gear gets tossed into a big ole box of crap much like any other government supplied equipment. You will think twice about any of your "personal" gear going into a river and pulling a body or into some seriously contaminated water (sewage, fuel, whatevah) and then simply being rinsed off and tossed in your truck or trunk.

Doby45, we are actually a POC department. With all the work we do off hours, we should still pretty much be considered Volunteer! ;-) All of the calls we have responded to have been fishing, boating, and swimming accidents. SO FAR, we haven't had any serious chemical incidents although I probably just jinxed myself. Part of the agreement will be that the initial investment would be split (allowing for rec use) and then moving forward the Dept would handle all maintenance and replacement costs. In the event a suit was damaged or contaminated, the Dept would then pick up the cost for cleaning, repairs and replacement.

 

[Doby45]

I gotcha bud, thank you for your service. I know a lot of people make it out to be some animosity between Fire and LEO but let me tell you, nothing warms my heart more than being out on a call and hearing Fire coming to my location. My partner got struck on GA 400 a few years ago while conducting a traffic stop and I wanted the red lights there way before I wanted some more blue.

 

[Bigeclipse]

I will echo what everyone else is saying. All of my diving experience has been lake and Quarry diving in NY and you will want a drysuit. They are expensive but truly a small cost for comfort. I have dove semidry wetsuits in ice and cold quarries and I will tell you that anything over 15 minutes and comfort starts going out the window and being cold while doing any sort of search and rescue is not cool (pun intended).

 

[joemamswetsuit]

Doby45, I am guessing you are a LEO, if so thank you for your service as well. I work quite closely with LE, they get a bad rap and I hate the "us vs them" mentality. We have a set-up where we are looking to first respond to the incident, once it is deemed a recovery we transition to LE taking over and we step back and offer a support role.

Since most of the suggestions on this board have been to look at a dry suit, can anyone recommend a decent entry level suit to investigate? Also, would you suggest making this a primary since it will mainly be used in WI? I have dove with 6 mil suits in the past and been able to stay plenty warm in WI from Spring-->Fall.

 

[Doby45]

@tbone1004 gave you the best suggestion for a quality low cost drysuit and that would be USIA.

 

[tbzep]

You need a drysuit that can be deconned easily. That usually means a rubberized suit. My dept uses the White's/Aqualung Hazmat suit and OTS Guardian full face mask, but there are plenty others to choose from. You may be tasked with recovering bodies that have started decomposing or hooking up vehicles that inevitably leak fuel or other volatiles into the water you are in. I was deployed into a nasty stock pond last year.

Not all depts throw their stuff in a box. Most don't. I trained a few days with some divers in the Atlanta area. I must say the Cobb County Police USRT are good guys and they take good care of their gear.

 

[tbone1004]

why worry about decon for fishing/boating/swimming accidents? The specifically mention not doing vehicle recoveries, so the odds of diving in contaminated water seem to be pretty minimal.... If you are doing any decon stuff where you need to buy the rubberized drysuits and FFM's, the bill for that should be 100% footed by the department as that equipment is not something that a recreational diver would ever use

 

[tbzep]

why worry about decon for fishing/boating/swimming accidents? The specifically mention not doing vehicle recoveries, so the odds of diving in contaminated water seem to be pretty minimal.... If you are doing any decon stuff where you need to buy the rubberized drysuits and FFM's, the bill for that should be 100% footed by the department as that equipment is not something that a recreational diver would ever use

If you've seen decomposed bodies, you'd want as much protection and decon as you can get.

 

[Lake Hickory Scuba]

I am looking for some suggestions on new equipment for Personal and Fire Dept Rescue diving. I am an officer with a local department and we are just starting to form our first dive team. I have worked with a local dive shop a bit who also helps other departments and received some equipment suggestions. We have worked out an agreement with our department that members will pay for some of their gear, in return we will get to use it recreationally as well as well as for emergency response.

My question is really over a few of the recommendations for equipment. Some of the vendors offer a nice discount, but the shop is also willing to give us a discount on some of their brands. This will be my first purchase of NEW equipment, instead of used that I have had in the past. I am really looking for recommendations on which one of these items people would suggest I we with and why.

Diving Conditions: We are located in WI so most of the lakes are considered cold water lakes. The areas we cover are typically only to about 40', although if we assist with other departments, we have the potential for going to 90'. Ice diving, night diving are possible scenarios. We probably won't assist in vehicle recovery, and our initial operations will be limited to 1-2 hours.

Equipment:

Suit: AquaLung SolaFX Semi-Dry(8mm)
Regulator: Aqualung Legend LX Supreme or Atomic ST1 (Similar for Safe Second)
BCD: AquaLung Axiom i3 or Zeagle Ranger LTD
Dive Computer: Atomic Cobalt 2

Mask, Fins, Snorkel will be all on our own. Any comments or suggestions on the choices would be appreciated.

Joe

I would say I answer these questions at least 3 to 4 times a week, being that our store specializes in Public Safety Diving. Hopefully this video will help you understand what a diver should consider before buying gear for this type of diving. As a shop owner, I am biased, however, as a Professional Public Safety Diver, I also understand each teams needs are different from the next. If you have any other questions please feel free to send me a message and we can discuss further.

 

[joemamswetsuit]

You need a drysuit that can be deconned easily. That usually means a rubberized suit. My dept uses the White's/Aqualung Hazmat suit and OTS Guardian full face mask, but there are plenty others to choose from. You may be tasked with recovering bodies that have started decomposing or hooking up vehicles that inevitably leak fuel or other volatiles into the water you are in. I was deployed into a nasty stock pond last year.

TBZEP, that is one thing I don't have to worry about, or at least shouldn't have to. In our jurisdiction, the Sheriff's Office will handle recoveries and private groups will handle vehicles. tbone1004, you are correct we won't touch that stuff. The extent of our diving would be first response to attempt a save.

Bryan, thank you so much for the video's, that will help a lot.