Training today

[PWCPD Diver]

Well we made a "dummy" out of old fire hose, duct tape and dive weights and then threw him in a local Lake. Then we practiced body bagging him underwater. What a pain in the ***** that was.

With zero visibility the zippers on the "black" body bag were almost impossible to see. So I figured a chem light attached to the zipper would work (it does). We cut the corners off of the bag to drain out the water. I could have used a little more weight due to the bouyancy of the body bag. I actually was neutral instead of being heavy.

We then used a lift bag to assist in floating him back to shore (we did shore dives). It was actually easier just to drag him back with out the lift bag.

I also tried the "Swimmer's" nose plug while using my AGA. I can never get the AGA nose block to work. The "Swimmer's" plug worked like a champ.

Now i just have to clean the mud and sand out of my ears because I didn't bother with a hood today!

 

[Gary D.]

Bagging a body UW can be a pain but it is the best place. Out of sight and it also helps preserve some evidence.

As far as lift bags go, forget them. Even a heavy body is only going to weigh around 15# so just bringing them up isn’t that bad. A lift bag just complicates things.

Thanks for the Chem Lite tip. We have just put Zip Ties in the zipper and worked the daylights out of the zipper on the surface. But they can still be a female dog in heat on the bottom.

Sounds like you had a good time.

Gary D.

 

[PWCPD Diver]

It was a good time. My wife works at a local hospital and suggested that we use white body bags(that's what they have). So we may try those out too.

 

[Gary D.]

Stay with the black bags. We have dropped a couple of victims right out of the bottom of the white ones. I can’t even describe the feeling when you are picking up the bag and the victim blows right out the bottom. You never forget that melon sound when their head hits the deck not to mention the look on family and by-standers faces. Not a good image to be portraying.

The white bags can be used as a second liner but not as the main bag like they use at the hospitals.

As far as draining the bag try not to cut the corners. Try unzipping the lowest corner a little and watch closely as the content’s exit. That way you can reseal the bag and contain the remaining contents and liquids. Cutting the corners kind of defeats the purpose of the bag.

Glad you had a good time. There is nothing wrong with having fun learning.

Gary D.

 

[PWCPD Diver]

The hard part we had was getting the victim in the bag. We tried laying the bag out flat and then unzipping it but that didn't work well. So then we unzipped it halfway and shoved the body in as best we could starting with the upper body.

I'll try the bag without cutting the corners next time around.

 

[dherbman]

Bagging a body UW can be a pain but it is the best place. Out of sight and it also helps preserve some evidence.

Gary D.

Couldn't agree more. It's also a skill that takes a lot of practice to master in different environments. Current, low/no viz, cold water are several examples where the experience is drastically different. My first and only experience was a bad time to discover some of the complications that can arise.

 

[David P]

question: if the body is not fresh, will rigormortis set in under water? I would think that would make matters even worse.

 

[Gary D.]

question: if the body is not fresh, will rigormortis set in under water? I would think that would make matters even worse.

It does and it does.

Sometimes you have to just force limbs to bend. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Depending on the size of the victim it can be a real challenge.

Rigor can be more pronounced sooner in a victim who makes a violent struggle prior to death. There is also a phenomenon called Instantaneous Rigor Mortis that will affect specific body parts.

It can come on sooner and last much longer depending on surrounding conditions. It’s a big pain on the surface and compounded underwater.

Gary D.

 

[Gary D.]

We recovered a fisherman from the river on June 20,1986. Even though it was June the water in the Spokane River, below the dam was hauling butt.

It was the second day of the search and Walla, there he is. In the main river current, right on the very edge of an eddy. The vis was good, maybe 20 feet, so I left him alone and returned to the beached boat.

I returned with a marker to keep tract of him incase he moved which is unlikely. It was shallow at around 20’ is all.

He was face down in the fetal position with his head upstream and only about a foot away from the calm slow moving eddy.

Back at the boat we decide to bag him on the bottom. The shore was covered with searchers, by-standers and just the goulash types looking for something unusual.

So I take the black bag down with a Mike who was my second diver. We unfold the bag, unzip it and everything went well up to that point.

I, Mike had nothing to do with this, opened the bag. We were right next to the victim so once the bag was opened we would roll him out of the current and into the bag. Sounds like a good plan right. It was until I didn’t pay 110% attention to what I was doing.

My hand went into the swift current as I opened the bag. Try that sometime.

The next thing I know is that I’m headed downstream and on top of a big black parachute. This was like a Roadrunner Cartoon. The only thing missing was ACME written on the bag.

I didn’t have a clue as to how far I actually went until the current slacked a little near a swimming area a half mile downstream.

The boat crew had a look of terror on their faces while they were laughing their butts off when I surfaced, WITH THE BAG.

I had been pulled into the main river went over two sets of rapids made a hard left turn them a hard right turn through some nasty whirlpools before coming to the surface.

I shouldn’t say this but I had a ball. We train in that area a lot. More so back then than we do now so I knew what was coming and what to expect so lets make the best of this ride.

When the boat got me back to the victim Mike had already pulled him to the waters edge and we bagged him there.

The hardest part of the operation was to keep from laughing when I got back.

How do we seem to make such a sad situation funny?

The victim was fishing off the light colored point right next to the "EAST" word and was recovered very close to it.
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=11&Z=11&X=1252&Y=13207&W=1

I was picked up on the north side of the river just past the clearing in the trees.

Gary D.

 

[Yotsie]

We have body bags that have a plastic coated mesh bottom so they'll drain as we surface the body. I believe they're made here locally. They are bright yellow and the zippers have a small float on them, so it's easier to find (although I will try a chem light next time).
The cool thing is they can be decon'd and re-used and we have an agreement with our deputy coroners to have them cleaned and ready to pickup within 3 days of it hitting the facility.

I'll get the company name and info if any of you are interested. We've used them for the last 6 years and have only had to replace one.

Paul