PSDs in Florida save driver in submerged truck

[BladesRobinson]

KUDOS TO THE TEAM!!!

Dive team saves truck driver after canal crash - ABC-7.com WZVN News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Naples, Florida


Dive team uses underwater system to save truck driver - NBC-2.com WBBH News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Naples, Florida



A man who landed his semi-truck in the bottom of a canal in an accident Thursday morning is alive after being recued by two brave fire fighters.
The team of fire fighter-divers helped the man after he reportedly lost control, crossed the lanes of traffic headed west and crashed through a fence and into the canal.
Aaron Odum and Justin Beasley were the two brave firefighters who pulled the man to safety.
Getting the driver out wasn't easy, thankfully Beasley and the rest of the dive team had their new underwater communication system which helped them maneuver and communicate in the dark and murky waters.
Golden Gate fire dive instructor Brian Brauvais says he tried for years to find the right communications system.
"We tested out several systems and luckily through a federal grant we were able to get the money to purchase this system," Brauvais said.
It's a system that's only two months old, a system that helped save a driver many are calling lucky.
"This gentleman is extremely lucky to be alive from what they were saying was an air pocket in the vehicle, which is, unless you watch TV, extremely rare in real life that will ever happen," Brauvais said.
The driver, 39-year-old Rodriguez Eduardo Perez, was flown to Lee Memorial Hospital with serious injuries.

 

[Cowdoc]

Response time must have been incredible.

 

[Herb-alaska]

So what comm system were they using?

 

[tc]

OTS according to the 2nd video.

 

[Rapid Diver]

Response time must have been incredible.

The response time was incredible! The combination of the right training and the right equipment made all the difference. The divers where using the Rapid Diver System and the OTS Guardian Mask and comms. I am very proud to have had the opportunity to provide support these true professionals.



Collier County was one of the first counties in Florida that recognized early on that speed is the determining factor in a successful rescue in regards to a submerged vehicle accident.

There is very limited space on the trucks for gear, so the Rapid Diver System selected for its compact stowable size to give the "first ons" a chance at rescue. Golden Gate has been deploying the Rapid Diver™ system since they got there first 15 units in 2008. Golden Gate, Marco Island, Naples, Ochopee and Isles of Capri now all have the Rapid Diver™ on their “first ons”. This is probably the safest county to drive through!

Due to budget restraints the OTS masks where added acouple years ago and we were able to get the communications sent down a fewmonths ago. Just in time for this event to happen.

A little background, Golden Gate has already been very active with their dive program which you may not have known before this dramatic rescue.


Acting LieutenantJesus Padilla was honored and awarded the 2009 Distinguished Public Service forFirefighter on October 21, 2009, by The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.Padilla was cited for valiant efforts as a diver to rescue the last of four persons in a car submerged in a lake with zero visibility. Although the victim he rescued survived only two days, Golden Gate Fire Chief Bob Metzger said of Padilla,”He faced and overcame profound challenges in locating the vehicle, establishing its orientation and making the risky decision to enter it to try to save a life."Jesus Padilla was nominated by his department and was selected to receive theaward.




Rapid Diver™ was also successfully used when the Collier County crew responded to a scenario in which an aircraft from Naples Airportcrashed five miles off-shore of the Naples Pier. During the exercise, Diverslocated crash victims and the plane's black box.
From:Emergency responders from multiple agencies take part in offshore drill » Naples Daily News

NAPLES — Some gulf fish swimming five miles out from Naples Pier may havecome across a confusing scene on Wednesday.
There, underwater, a plastic dummy lay on the gulf floor near two blackboxes, while about a dozen scuba divers spread out searching for them.
This was the scene of a unique training exercise, bringing togethermultiple emergency response agencies in Collier County to test their ability torespond to a small plane crash in the gulf.

Boats and dive teams from Collier County Sheriff’s Office, City of NaplesPolice and Fire department, and fire districts from North Naples, East Naples,Isles of Capri and Golden Gate were called out into the gulf for the marinesearch and rescue exercise.
Once they reached the site of the fake crash, divers plunged into the gulf,in search of bodies and debris.
The functional exercise was called Operation Fathom – though it could havejust as easily been called “Diving for Dummies.”
But Joe Frazier, the county’s Homeland Security coordinator, said thetraining scenario was serious business.
“It’s designed to determine how well our (departments) respond to a downedaircraft in the gulf,” Frazier said.
Similar events have played out in real life in Collier County.

Collier Sheriff’s diver Jim Baker recalls a downed single-occupant aircraftoff the Naples coast about seven years ago. There were no survivors, he said,but he had to search the aircraft for evidence.
Frazier said a key to this drill was testing the coordination betweenmultiple agencies that had recently formed the Marine Emergency Response Community(MERC) to work out any kinks.
“It’s really a plan or procedure that combines all the marine aspects inthe county,” said Mike Swanson, a deputy chief at North Naples and MERCcoordinator.
Swanson said that it’s useful for these agencies to work together becausemarine equipment used in emergency response is limited in the county.
The drills allow all of the participants to play out their role in a givenscenario, he said.
On shore, representative of the departments gathered in a mobile commandcenter — a large bus with radios and computers — to practice communication ofthe coordinates of the crash.

One of the conclusions that came from the drill was the need to havemultiple radio channels for communication in large-scale emergencies, said Swanson.
The more complicated the situation, the more difficult communicationbecomes, he said.
In this case, there was too much information to be relayed to too manysources for just one channel.
The most promising conclusion the drill provided was the expertise of thediving teams in their various roles, Frazier observed.
For most divers participating in the drill, searching for dummies anddebris is nothing new – though the partnership between fire districts and thesheriff’s office was different.

However, divers from Golden Gate got the opportunity to experience something they rarely do in their own district – salt water.
Divers from the landlocked district typically do search and rescue in murkycanals and lakes — the kind that most people won’t even fish in — said BillMoyer, a Golden Gate battalion chief.

The 15 feet of visibility was welcomed by Golden Gate Fire Lt. JasonSellers and Engineer Jake Beckman, who typically can’t see what’s in front of them when they dive. They were able to spot the dummy in minutes.

Climbing back onto the boat from the clear water, Sellers quipped, “We definitely need some salt water in our district.”

 

[wyattwerneth]

The Rapid Diver has proven it self for sure. The Cocoa Beach FD has one on every engine and a water rescue team certified by NASE. If your a public safety service you need to get the RDES and certified by NASE soon. Its not if something like this will happen in your town its when.

www.scubanase.com