Reading the narrative of the event is absolutely frightening. I think about all the years I spent around hundreds of scuba tanks in various conditions (including tanks in countries with very lax regulations.)
When I saw the pictures of the tanks, I couldn't believe how wasted they were. If you look around at the price of the equipment in a firehouse, scuba tanks are relatively cheap. Even in my pirate dog days, I don't think I would have been comfortable with that tank, much less paid money for it. I understand that budgets are often shrinking but to risk life over a tank that you saved 50-60 bucks on isn't worth it. (and ,yes, I know you can get a killer deal on a used tank if you know what to look for.)
It all reminded me of a phone call I got when I worked in a dive shop decades ago. It was the early 90s so tech diving was just being born and I was doing 200 foot tech dives with hyperoxic deco mixes. The phone at the dive shop rings...
"Hello, I'm * name redacted * with the * name redacted * Fire Department. We setting up a dive rescue team and we're looking to buy some gear. Do you guys have any old used gear that you can sell us? We're on a budget so we need a good price."
I was building up my tech diving systems with redundant buoyancy, redundant gas supplies and oxygen clean parts. Were these guys going to be the ones to rescue me if I got in trouble? Were they the ones that would dive to recover my body? It really concerned me and I never forgot that call.
I think public safety diving has come a long way since then...
I'm looking for advice on how this IS done. I am a trained PCI/PSI tank inspector but can't recall being trained how to deal with this situation. We had one of our students drop a tank and destroyed the handle assembly. Mike at PCI/PSI advised us to secure the tank and loosen the relief valve slowly. Ultimately we were able to turn the stem with a lot of effort and the help of a long nose pliers and pry open the valve.
