Volunteer divers looking to organize!

[Diving Dutch]

In my town, a group of volunteer firefighters/EMTs are wanting to organize a search and rescue/recovery dive team. The interested volunteers are mostly made up of recreational divers, with a wide range of certifications and experience. I am looking for a little guidance on departmental SOPs from other organizations, with the core force being volunteer, but under the adminstration of Public Safety. We have the support of our adminstrative chiefs.
We are an isolated community, and have to rely on our own resources and ingenuity to deal with emergencies and nonemergencies alike. I would appreciate any suggestions or direction for getting a team started.

 

[Gary D.]

In my town, a group of volunteer firefighters/EMTs are wanting to organize a search and rescue/recovery dive team. The interested volunteers are mostly made up of recreational divers, with a wide range of certifications and experience. I am looking for a little guidance on departmental SOPs from other organizations, with the core force being volunteer, but under the adminstration of Public Safety. We have the support of our adminstrative chiefs.
We are an isolated community, and have to rely on our own resources and ingenuity to deal with emergencies and nonemergencies alike. I would appreciate any suggestions or direction for getting a team started.

You have a lot of work ahead of you.

First and most important is training. Not OW, AOW, Rescue, Night and so on, but PSD training such as DR-1 for a starter. The minute you go from Sport to PSD the underwater world takes on a whole new persona.

If the team your are forming is not physically or mentally prepared for what may come in the future you could have a mess on your hands. Team members need to know this is not a game and not a team to join so they have bragging rights. It is a very serious dangerous job.

I don’t have a clue as to what kind of condition you will be responsible for but, that needs to be taken into consideration when the gear issue arises. You mentioned being a Rescue team. That even puts more strain on the gear issue. In Rescue the gear should be as close to the same as possible.

Are your prospective members willing to train once or better yet two times a month, without excuses, no matter what the weather conditions are?

Are they ready to fork out lots of $$ because if you’re not department funded it can get real expensive real fast. Will the departments pay for repairs or replacement of lost or damaged equipment? No matter how careful you are gear will get lost or damaged.

Who is going to carry the insurance? DO NOT count on you own health or accident insurance to cover you. If you are breaking the Sport Scuba rules, which you will be, they most likely will not cover you when the time comes.

Those are just a few of many many things that need to be thought out with a PSD team. Good luck in getting started but go in with loaded guns. Going into it unprepared is not good for either your mental or physical health.

Gary D.

 

[Diving Dutch]

You have a lot of work ahead of you.

Are your prospective members willing to train once or better yet two times a month, without excuses, no matter what the weather conditions are?

Are they ready to fork out lots of $$ because if you’re not department funded it can get real expensive real fast. Will the departments pay for repairs or replacement of lost or damaged equipment? No matter how careful you are gear will get lost or damaged.

Who is going to carry the insurance? DO NOT count on you own health or accident insurance to cover you. If you are breaking the Sport Scuba rules, which you will be, they most likely will not cover you when the time comes..

Gary D.

We train once a week in fire or EMS, so the members know that to be a part of an organization, they have to dedicate the time. The department has talked about budgeting funds for gear, gear replacement, or whatever is agreed upon. We are fortunate in that the community and city council strongly support the emergency volunteer corps, and are willy to fund the necessities. As for insurance, any incident as a result of training or call-out would be covered by the department.

So thanks for your input. I don't doubt that it's a long, hard road to follow. And you're right, we may be getting into something that is over our heads. That is the reason for the posting - to see if it's all plausible, feasible....

 

[Gary D.]

We train once a week in fire or EMS, so the members know that to be a part of an organization, they have to dedicate the time. The department has talked about budgeting funds for gear, gear replacement, or whatever is agreed upon. We are fortunate in that the community and city council strongly support the emergency volunteer corps, and are willy to fund the necessities. As for insurance, any incident as a result of training or call-out would be covered by the department.

So thanks for your input. I don't doubt that it's a long, hard road to follow. And you're right, we may be getting into something that is over our heads. That is the reason for the posting - to see if it's all plausible, feasible....

It sounds like you are off on a very good start and have done your homework.

Are all of your members going to be Firemen or people already in the Rescue/Recovery field?

Your location is going to make training tough. Is there anyway you can get at least one person to a location where the training could be offered or could you afford to have an instructor shipped in for a week or so?

There is a PSD book, I think published in Canada, that is a good reference. Right now I am drawing a blank as to the name of it. It will come to me and I’ll pass it on.

Do you have much fresh water in your area or mostly salt? They both require a very different approach especially on the investigation side of an incident or accident. The diving is similar but any investigations will have to be treated differently.

Sounds like your well on your way and let me be one of the first to welcome you aboard a very difficult and challenging business.

Gary D.

 

[MikeFerrara]

There is an organization based in Michigan that you might want to talk to. I think they're called MTRT for midwest technical recovery team.

I don't know anything about them besides what's on their web site but they volunteer their services for recoveries that are beyond the limits of local teams whether due to depth or overhead.

 

[Boater Dan]

There is a PSD book, I think published in Canada, that is a good reference. Right now I am drawing a blank as to the name of it. It will come to me and I’ll pass it on.
Gary D.

I think the book you are referring to is Public Safety Diving by Butch Hendricks. It is a good overview of what is involved, but should not be substituted for true training. You can purchase them from the Internet.

Dan

 

[Diving Dutch]

Yes, training. I'll look into getting a copy of the book. Because of the cost of travel out here, I believe the thought was to maybe get an instructor out here. Anyone out there have a desire to visit the Aleutians Islands???
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. We are anxious to get things started (with FY06 budget planning in progress).

 

[bridgediver]

You should get in touch with snowbear (also on the board here). He is in Alaska as well and may be able to get you in touch with a PSD instructor (also in Alaska). Both are familiar with the LGS philosophy for PSD and I would recommend it as well - LGS was created by Butch Hendricks who wrote the book that Dan mentioned. Butch usually makes his rounds through Alaska about once a year I believe - he trains the military guys up there
You can also contact LGS directly and look at their site
http://www.teamlgs.com/

good luck to you

 

[Gary D.]

A friend of mine bailed me out in the pinch.

Here is the book info.

The Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations, by RCMP Bob Teather

Gary D.