10:14 am the pager reads “01: DIVE TEAM RESPOND DIRECT TO HONEYSUCKLE BEACH VAN IN WATER UNK IF OCCUPIED”
10:16 I’m out the door and in service.
10:24 I’ve completed the 11 mile trip and I’m the third diver on scene.
The first diver hitting the water has done this a plethora of times and I don’t have to worry about him. The other diver on scene is at his first actual call.
I call out I’m safety and the FNG is the 90% diver.
As we are suiting up I learn that one victim is already on the dock. But a quick search shows he was the only victim.
To make things worse he has no identification and the registered owner has sold the van to a guy who sold it to another guy.
At this point we think we know who he is but a positive ID will take a while.
Once the primary diver is up I send in the FNG to get some actual scene experience. I gave him a couple of tasks, which he did correctly and then he did a wide area search. He didn’t act like an FNG and did a great job.
During the initial vehicle clearing a fourth diver showed up. He acted as my safety when I did the vehicle hook up. The two of us concentrated our efforts on the vehicle and its garbage truck load of contents. That van made it 99’ into the lake and was in 8’ of water.
Two other divers arrived but didn’t need to get suited up.
I was home by 12:50. It took 17 minutes to drive home with a slight overage on the speed limit. Unlike the 8 minutes it took to get there.
Lets hope this is the last one for the day.
On another note, I have had doubts about my new DUI 50/50 suit. It’s stiffer than the TLS 350 and harder to get into which was my major concern. Today was the first actual operation I have used it on. No underwear, only a “T” shirt and I was OK. Not warm but OK. With the adrenaline pumping I got right into the suit so my attitude about it has changed. Still not as fast as the 350 but fast enough. So the 50/50 is the main suit in my bag now.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.
Gary D.
10:16 I’m out the door and in service.
10:24 I’ve completed the 11 mile trip and I’m the third diver on scene.
The first diver hitting the water has done this a plethora of times and I don’t have to worry about him. The other diver on scene is at his first actual call.
I call out I’m safety and the FNG is the 90% diver.
As we are suiting up I learn that one victim is already on the dock. But a quick search shows he was the only victim.
To make things worse he has no identification and the registered owner has sold the van to a guy who sold it to another guy.
At this point we think we know who he is but a positive ID will take a while.
Once the primary diver is up I send in the FNG to get some actual scene experience. I gave him a couple of tasks, which he did correctly and then he did a wide area search. He didn’t act like an FNG and did a great job.
During the initial vehicle clearing a fourth diver showed up. He acted as my safety when I did the vehicle hook up. The two of us concentrated our efforts on the vehicle and its garbage truck load of contents. That van made it 99’ into the lake and was in 8’ of water.
Two other divers arrived but didn’t need to get suited up.
I was home by 12:50. It took 17 minutes to drive home with a slight overage on the speed limit. Unlike the 8 minutes it took to get there.
Lets hope this is the last one for the day.On another note, I have had doubts about my new DUI 50/50 suit. It’s stiffer than the TLS 350 and harder to get into which was my major concern. Today was the first actual operation I have used it on. No underwear, only a “T” shirt and I was OK. Not warm but OK. With the adrenaline pumping I got right into the suit so my attitude about it has changed. Still not as fast as the 350 but fast enough. So the 50/50 is the main suit in my bag now.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.
Gary D.
