breaking into the rescue / recovery field

[Scuba-Jay]

Hi all,

first time posting in this area of the forum. I'm a new PADI Divemaster and am leaving for further recreational training in Feb. I am however interested (down the road) in volunteering in some capacity with my local police / fire dive teams. Can you tell me what type of training would be involved in accomplishing this? Thanks for all the great work you guys do!!

Jay

 

[Scuba-Jay]

LoL Thanks for the barrage of responses folks! (=

 

[Gary D.]

OK, I’ll start.

We don’t move as fast as the New Diver or General Scuba Discussions forums as there are not that many of us here. So just have patience.

To start with Sport training can be very contradictory with PSD. You need to have the mindset that what happens in the sport world could get you hurt in PSD work. That’s why we stress PSD training through a recognized agency.

Most PSD training isn’t available to you if you are not a member of an emergency service origination such as Law Enforcement of Fire/Med and the certifications are only good for a short period of time before you need to recertify.

Start out here and by contacting your local team to see what you need to do.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=173955

Also read this.
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/3310/public.html

Good luck

Gary D.

 

[Boater Dan]

LoL Thanks for the barrage of responses folks! (=

Ditto on Gary's response.

I see that you are in St. Petersburg. My guess would be that they are either an FD or PD team. In order to participate, you would need to find out about membership from outside of the organizations. You really need to determine the requirements for joining teams in your area before our discussions become of any value.

Dan