Surface Supplied Diving for Public Safety Dive Team Leaders and Incident Commanders

Hosted on: June 9, 2012, NASAR 2012 Annual Conference, Lake Tahoe, CA

Surface Supplied Diving for Public Safety Dive Team Leaders and Incident Commanders

Public Safety Dive Team Leaders and Incident Commanders whom are responsible for a dive team need to understand the capabilities of the surface supplied equipped dive team. Professional surface supplied diving is a team effort. It’s of paramount importance that the topside team (dive team leaders, incident command and staff), as well as the divers, are all trained and qualified to do their job.

Many diving operations are in shallow water, less than 80 feet (24 meters) and often are conducted in remote areas. Prior to the availability of lightweight, portable surface supplied diving equipment, the most common method that was used for diving and working in these remote areas was SCUBA. Working underwater with SCUBA diving equipment is less efficient and poses several safety risks for working public safety divers.

The primary differences between Surface Supplied Diving and SCUBA Diving include the following: using voice communication, having unlimited breathing gas supply, the use of surface support and they are tethered to the surface.

Public Safety Dive team leaders, with appropriate budgets, need to consider acquiring surface supplied diving systems and training for safety reasons, especially in limited visibility. These systems are another resource in the Incident Commanders tool box.

For assistance preparing and scheduling training for your Team contact ERDI or Omni Divers Underwater Services, L.L.C. directly.

http://www.tdisdi.com/wpsite/erdi/ or call 207.729.4201

Please email omnidive@omnidivers.com if you are interested or want additional information.

Omni Divers Underwater Services Interspiro Surface Supplied Diving Lake Tahoe NASAR 06 12