Urgent safety notice ...

[Waterdog Diver]

Due to bad weather we did not get to get in the water this weekend. We do plan to checkout all the gear soon and give a report.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

I don't know about that thal, what seems to be your concern of a metal buckel? Now do not get me wrong the self compensating rubber belt is great, but diving in cold water puts it to the test with as much weight that is mentioned here carrying. warm water, free diving they are great with lighter weight. Also they will wear out, crack and tear, whereas the nylon belt will go for 40 to 50 years.

Now on that note my original nylon belt was cut nicely on the ends to a rounded corners and has a nice press melt to it. My newer belts is just cut straight and a slight melt on the end. And two of my old belts have a snubber system on them but are small for warm water, free diving.


The practice of scenario has now come into play of a death, when dropping a weight belt in OW class you do it, in rescue class divers have there own equipment and the W/I BCD'S , this is the practice of instructor to not spend the time on dumping weights, Holy cow this is a rescue class.

I mentioned in related thread, having the bcd free of weights makes it very easy to deal with in and out of the water. I used a W/I for shore diving for a few years, and in a inflatable it was more of a pain to put a scuba kit on, so I have since retired them and use them without or maybe 2# in each side if shore diving.

 

[k ellis]

The problem with the equipment in question is that it had been serviced by the dive team members themselves. The chief of police even stated there had been modifications made to the gear by non factory certified technicians. With this in mind altering gear always leaves questions open such as was the gear rethreaded after practice dumps and the inflator deflator (Which the chief mentioned had not been modified by authorized technicians.) were even safe for diving.

To bash the gear company for things out of their control is just wrong. What the INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DIVE RESCUE SPECIALISTS should be recommending is that all gear be inspected by factory authorized dealers before use. Any modifications made outside of the repair shop that fails is not the manufacturers fault automaticly. And with 12 of these releases failing it sounds more like since NO one else who uses the same gear has reported a similiar failure that there was more to the story then being told.

 

[ditch-diver]

Just to set the record straight, I did not 'bash the gear company" or attempt to "slander a reputable company". I merely asked if they were looking at a recall. I know the company, used some of their gear at one time and know if they had twelve units tested and failed they would look at why. Asking if there was going to be recall was me asking (albeit poorly, I admit) if the company had found any fault with their product. It sounds to me like it was not a product flaw but 'factors beyond the control of the company' at this point.

All this is watering down the original, important message from Blades, check your gear..., all of it and make sure it works as it is supposed to

That's what happens when you hurry a post when running out the door.... ~sigh~

 

[BladesRobinson]

The International Associaiton of Dive Rescue Specialists was notified of two quick release weight systems that did not function as anticipated by a team in Kentucky. This equipment was not the same type or brand as the gear used by victim in Virginia. The IADRS will stick to the original recommendation ... "that dive teams practice releasing thier weight systems and check to make certain that equipment functions as designed" and it is "important that ALL equipment function without error."

It should be noted that the IADRS has ALWAYS supported the notion that equipment be serviced per the manufacturer's recommendation" and more frequently based on usage.

THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DIVE RESCUE SPECIALISTS RECOMMENDS THAT ALL DIVE TEAMS USING WEIGHT SYSTEMS THAT ARE INTEGRATED INTO THE BUOYANCY COMPENSATORS IMMEDIATELY CHECK THEIR SCUBA UNITS TO MAKE 100% CERTAIN THAT THE WEIGHT SYSTEMS RELEASE AS DESIGNED...


Details of the December 20, 2011 line of duty death involving a public safety diver were released recently and equipment malfunction was determined to be the primary cause of this line of duty public safety diver death. Apparently, the manual inflate/deflate button on the oral inflator was missing prior to the dive. Dive team members believed that the BC could be inflated by the LP auto inflator and deflated via the dump valve. What they may not have considered was the spring that lies under the button and facilitates in the oral inflator/deflator valve returning to the normally closed position was also missing. The diver was wearing 40 pounds of lead and his BC would not hold air because the oral inflator/deflator valve was in the open position and the BC could not hold air during the latter part of the dive. Additionally, the BC had not been serviced by a certified technician since the agency purchased the BCs three years ago.

The victim and his dive partner were conducting an underwater compass run and after approximately 17 minutes underwater, the divers determined they had missed their intended target and came to the surface to get reoriented. The divers surfaced without difficulty, oriented to a buoy on the surface and submerged to continue their compass swim. The victim's buddy noticed that the victim was having difficulty with his buoyancy and assisted the victim back to the surface. On the surface, both divers began a surface swim towards the closest point of land with the victim holding onto his buddy for buoyancy. Before reaching the shore, the victim lost his grip on his partner and sank to the bottom. The victom's dive partner could not submerge for a quick rescue because his BC was fully inflated. Moments later the victim was recovered and CPR was initiated. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

During the surface swim the victim attempted to ditch his weight system that was integrated into his buoyancy compensator. According to the agency chief, following the accident investigators tried to release the weight system on the victim's BC and could not get the system to release. On another dive team BC system that was the same make and model as the one used by the victim, investigators could not get that weight system to release either. The local television station reports that 12 "weight belts" were tested by the agency and NONE of the weight systems released as designed.

There is speclation as to the factors that may have contributed to the rip cord not releasing the weight systems:
1) The victim's BC had 40 pounds of lead and some are guessing that this much weight may cause too much friction on the rip cord that is woven through the weight pockets.
2) The weights were stored in the BC and over time the pockets and/or rip cord may have degraded.
3) The rip cord may have been woven improperly.

Several years ago during a training program a dive team did not want to ditch their integrated weight system because it was too difficult for them to re-string the weights and it required removal of their BC units. Their instructor insisted that they practice releasing their weights and it was the first time that the divers had actually pulled their rip cords and ditched their weights. Up to that point in time the dive team members had always simulated pulling the rip cord. It is important that dive teams practice releasing thier weight systems and check to make certain that equipment functions as designed.

In addition to having team members prove that their weight systems can be released it is also important that ALL equipment function without error. If an inflator valve leaks air, disconnecting the LP hose and allowing the diver to continue training is not acceptable. The equipment must work as designed, it should be maintained according to manufacturer's recommendations and divers should consider more frequent service based on the frequecy of use.

ALSO ... there was another "near miss" recently involving a diver using a redundant air system plumbed through a bypass/diverter valve. The valve allowed the diver to breathe from the primary tank or the reserve tank without removing the full face mask. The diver began his on duty training dive with the valve in the wrong position and he ran out of air several minutes after beginning his dive under ice. It is important that equipment checks be performed on all divers before entering the water and an important part of that check is confirming the proper position of the diverter valve.

If your team has an integrated weight system and it does not function as designed, please contact the International Association of Dive Rescue Specialists at 800-IADRS-911 or 970-482-1562 and immediately remove the equipment from service.

Safe diving to all,

Blades Robinson, Executive Director
International Association of Dive Rescue Specialists
www.IADRS.org

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Faulty equipment cited in officer death
Findings announced in press conference
Updated: Wednesday, 15 Feb 2012, 11:54 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 15 Feb 2012, 11:34 AM EST
Jessica O. Swink

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - The Chesapeake Chief of Police says that an equipment failure contributed to the death of Officer Timothy Schock during Dive Team training on Dec. 20, 2011.
Police Chief Kelvin L. Wright made this announcement in a news conference Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Wright said that they believe two equipment failures revealed in the death investigation caused Schock's death. The first piece of equipment was related to the power inflater, which is a smaller mask that inflates or deflates a buoyancy compensator.

The investigation reveals that before the dive, Schock was in the water, but hadn't gone under. He realized a button which allows him to inflate or deflate the buoyancy compensator was missing and decided to use a manual method. Wright said after 17 minutes under water, Schock and his diving partner realized they were off track of their buoys, so they resurfaced.

Schock's dive partner attempted to assist him with Schock holding onto his partner's neck. As the two kicked back to shore, Schock's partner asked him to loosen his grip because he was choking. Once Schock loosened his grip, he sank back underwater.

Schock tried to re-inflate his apparatus, and he couldn't. He then tried to drop his weighted belt, but according to the investigation, the belt failed to drop.

After the incident, Wright says all 12 belts were tested and failed.

There have been no dives in the water since the incident and Chesapeake Police are in the process of replacing all of the equipment.

According to Chief Wright, divers maintain their own equipment. Schock reportedly had problems with his equipment prior to the Dec. 20 incident.

10 On your Side has requested information many times regarding the information of this death, filing several Freedom of Information Act requests. The last request was denied just two days ago. On Feb. 14, WAVY-TV sent a legal response to the Chesapeake Police Department's denial letter. You can count on WAVY-TV and WAVY.com for the latest information on this case as it becomes available.

SEE THE CHIEF'S STATEMENT, PRESS RELEASE AND PHOTOS AT:
http://media2.wavy.com/html/PDFs/Police Chief Statement 2-15-12.pdf