ST. JOHN'S ** There are questions about whether a diver who died in Bay Bulls harbour Tuesday should have been there in the first place.
Adrian Fleming, 45, was fixing some moorings for Mullowney's, a boat tour company, when he died. But Fleming isn't registered with the Diver Certification Board of Canada as a commercial diver, the body that recognizes certified commercial divers. On Wednesday, a medical examiner confirmed his death was the result of a diving accident, and not a pre-existing medical condition. Mary Earles, Fleming's sister-in-law, says he trained as a diver in St. John's and had been diving for eight years. However, there isn't a commercial diving program in this province only sport scuba training. It's all too common for people without proper certification to take commercial work, says Dean Bailey, owner of a commercial diving company. He says many people call for a quote on underwater work, but they usually don't go with his company"We find out a month or two down the road that they hired a local scuba diver who went out and did it for them on the cheap," he says. "So in some cases, it's the case of the client cheapening out, in other cases, they probably just don't know any better. "Bailey says if people aren't aware of the rules, there will be more tragedies.The provincial government hasn't done a good job of advertising new, stricter regulations for commercial divers and companies that require commercial level work, he says. Occupational Health and Safety is still investigating. If your not a registerd commercial diver, please don't try taking on underwater jobs that may kill you, there's allot more to it than just sport diving skills.
Happy sport diving
Richard
Adrian Fleming, 45, was fixing some moorings for Mullowney's, a boat tour company, when he died. But Fleming isn't registered with the Diver Certification Board of Canada as a commercial diver, the body that recognizes certified commercial divers. On Wednesday, a medical examiner confirmed his death was the result of a diving accident, and not a pre-existing medical condition. Mary Earles, Fleming's sister-in-law, says he trained as a diver in St. John's and had been diving for eight years. However, there isn't a commercial diving program in this province only sport scuba training. It's all too common for people without proper certification to take commercial work, says Dean Bailey, owner of a commercial diving company. He says many people call for a quote on underwater work, but they usually don't go with his company"We find out a month or two down the road that they hired a local scuba diver who went out and did it for them on the cheap," he says. "So in some cases, it's the case of the client cheapening out, in other cases, they probably just don't know any better. "Bailey says if people aren't aware of the rules, there will be more tragedies.The provincial government hasn't done a good job of advertising new, stricter regulations for commercial divers and companies that require commercial level work, he says. Occupational Health and Safety is still investigating. If your not a registerd commercial diver, please don't try taking on underwater jobs that may kill you, there's allot more to it than just sport diving skills.
Happy sport diving
Richard