"Public Service Divers"???

[scubajb]

Not sure if this is the correct term. I will hopefully be finishing my rescue diver course by Feb/Mar time frame. I have spoke with several of the emergency services employees in my county and they have expressed interest in signing me up as a contact for local emergency diving. I know that the rescue course won't come close to prepare me for that. Where should I go for additional training? Interested in it but need to learn more before starting down this road...

Thanks,
jim

 

[haha49]

depends on what call they call you for sometimes its find a car that went off the road and try to find the body other times it could be go pull people out of the water other times its just recover a stolen car depends on what they want to higher you for you could always just ask and they will tell you..

 

[bmcsteve]

Here is a company in the NW that trains to the level you are speaking of. I am not sure if they service Mantana and I have no idea how good they are, I just know that some of the local dive teams here in Oregon use them. If I could ever get my FD to start a dive team, I would be all over it. But in themean time, I'll just enjoy my recreational diving. Hope this helps.

Steve

Public Safety Diving Association

 

[Kayla]

There is a Public Saftey Divers section on this board, also... Might have some good info for you to check out... I'll send you a PM with some details.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

You should contact GaryD He posts in the public safety forum all the time. PSD is a whole different ball game than rec or tech diving. The guys in the PSD forum are top notch.

One of the local PSD's showed a tape of a rescue to my CERT gorup that actually turned into a recovery of two small boys. He told us before hand how it went down. It was horrible to watch. It was very had to watch even harder for his team to make the dive and live with it. I am glad we have people like that willing to serve.

 

[rongoodman]

I would be very cautious about getting into this type of diving without the proper training, equipment, and support. Those guys typically are diving in zero vis, with potential for entrapment and exposure to hazardous materials, biological and otherwise. I'm into the rescue world too, at least on dry land, and am not trying to be discouraging, but PSD is probably closer to commercial than recreational diving.

 

[Otter]

...snip... PSD is probably closer to commercial than recreational diving.

No two ways about it. You can also check with Dive Rescue International.

 

[Nismo]

Usually rescue organizations want you to learn swift water and limited visibility diving. These would be the majority of water rescues when doing a recovery.

 

[UncleJoes]

I was trained by Dive Rescue International. Great orginization!

If you want to get a feel for what you'll most likely be doing find the muddiest, most seaweed filled pond and stick your face in the silt. It may sound over dramatic, but that is exactly what conditions are going to be like. 9 times out of 10 you cant even read your guage even when it's pressed against your mask.

I don't want to scare you. However, this is very serious work and not everyone can handle it. Ask your local SAR (Search And Rescue) teams if you can join in a traing sesion before you commit yourself to something you may not be ready for.

As I said my intention is not to dissuade anyone. I wish you the best of luck.

Jeff
Crescent Twp, PA
VFD #129

 

[Gary D.]

Just a few words of advice to help you on your venture.

First we are PSD’s or Public Safety Divers and not Public Service Divers. I don’t care what they call us but that’s what it is.

Being certified as a Recreational Rescue Diver has absolutely nothing to do with PSD. Our training is so contradictory to Recreational Diving we don’t let our members go further than OW.

A lot of people die after they get certified thinking they can start up a commercial diving operation, no matter how small it may be. Cleaning boat bottoms and retrieving stuff from marinas has so many hidden dangers it shocks people into disbelief.

Getting something out of a small pond or body of water can be very deadly with a plethora of hidden dangers. Not just what is in the water but how you configure your gear can be a real serious issue. The wrong thin in the wrong place for a given situation could be deadly.

Start out with this book: Barnes*&*Noble.com - Books: Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations, by Robert Gordon Teather, Paperback, 1st ed
Read it, read it again and pay very close attention to the contents between the covers. Shop around and it may be a bit cheaper than the link I provided.

This is not a game. It better not be an ego thing and most important it is a very serious style of diving.

Also in nearly every area you must have an emergency service connection to get on a team and get the training NEEDED.

Good luck and go wander around the PSD forum. Spend some time reading past posts and ask all the questions you want.

Also read this: What is a Public Safety Diver? There is a one liner above the last paragraph. It's very true and happens way to often.

Gary D. (DRI)