LAFD Divers Participate in NFPA Public Safety Dive Training

Twelve members of the LAFD participated in NFPA Public Safety Dive Training.  The training was held November 22-23 and was hosted by the LAFD dive program.  The training certified the members to meet NFPA standards in Dry Suit, Full-Face Mask and Contaminated Water Operations.  "This training is the first in a series of NFPA Public Safety Dive Training that eventually all LAFD dive team members will be receiving" says Dive Team Administrator, Battalion Chief Ray Gomez.  "Aligning our dive team to meet NFPA standards is one of our highest priorities for 2011", Gomez continues.

The training was a two day comprehensive course that was presented by Emergency Response Dive International (ERDI) and was instructed by Captain Chuck Herman, Tempe AZ, Fire Department and Jeff Smith, ERDI.  The class consisted of 4 hours classroom, 8 hours confined water (pool), 4 hours open water and a 4 hour homework assignment.  "It was demanding physically, mentally and academically" said Todd Hix, Supervising Mate, Fire Station 111-C.

Additional classes to be held in the near future include PSD I, PSD II as well as a number of other Spec Op's.  "Participating in these classes and obtaining the certifications that accompany them will bring our dive program to a whole new level of operation.  This NFPA training will qualify the dive team to compete for possible federal grants that can further advance the program to achieving a FEMA Type 1 resource rating" claims Chief Gomez.

Blacked Out Skills Testing- Bill Evans 38-C, Instructor Jeff Smith ERDI evaluating his operation

Super Mate Todd Hix Entanglement Skills Test

Basic Op's- Mate Dave Bender leads another diver in a basic op's drill

Public Safety Diver Dies in Training Accident

A Virginia State Police trooper who died Tuesday after a deep-water training exercise in Lake Anna was one of the newest members of the department's Search and Recovery Team but was considered a skilled diver with no known health problems, authorities said.  Since joining the 20-officer specialty team about a year ago, trooper Mark D. Barrett, 41, of Midlothian had participated in several dive and rescue operations, in addition to completing regular training exercises three days a month and a full week once every quarter, said Sgt. Mitchell Smith, his supervisor.

After Barrett expressed interest in the assignment, "we brought him over to the training academy, took him to the pool and gave him some experience prior to even testing for the team," Smith said yesterday during a media briefing. "We realized he had the skills, knowledge and ability to do a great job."

On Tuesday, Barrett was among 16 Search and Recovery Team members participating in routine diving exercises in 75 feet of water in the southeastern portion of Lake Anna on the Louisa County side.  "They were tasked with just a very simple [maneuver]," Smith said.

They followed a line to the bottom of the lake, made one pass on a search line below and resurfaced following another line to the top. "The whole training evolution would have taken less than 10 minutes," Smith said.

Barrett was resurfacing with his "dive buddy" -- a fellow trooper -- when Barrett became unresponsive, said state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.  Barrett's dive buddy immediately helped him rise to the surface and signaled for help from other divers. They lifted Barrett onto the team boat and began administering CPR as the boat returned to shore. The Louisa County Volunteer Rescue Squad continued aid as they transported Barrett to Henrico Doctors' Hospital, where he died.

Barrett is the department's first dive team member to die in the line of duty since the unit was established in 1962, Geller said. An autopsy is being conducted to determine his cause of death.

Barrett's diving equipment appeared to be functioning properly after being examined by investigators. "We have no reason to believe there was any malfunction on the part of the equipment," Geller said.  The equipment is being sent to an independent lab for further testing, she added.

Smith said Barrett had dived at that same location and at a similar depth on other occasions.

The trooper was physically active and appeared to be in good health, Smith added.  He participated in an off-duty, indoor soccer team and had started training to run a marathon, Smith said.  "I noticed a marked improvement in his physical abilities," Smith said. "He started to seriously consider his diet and his general good health."

Barrett was assigned to patrol in the Richmond/Henrico County area. His survivors include a wife, a 16-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son.

"He was a good trooper, a very devoted father," Smith said. "Mark was the type of guy if you had a special assignment you needed to get done, he would do the assignment. He would do exactly what you asked him, and he would do the job well."

Local Dive Casualties 

Local Diver Found Dead On Yukon Wreck Off San Diego

  
Diver dies after getting caught in rocks in Laguna

Another Laguna diver dies

Lobster diver dies in San Diego 

Man dies in Redondo Beach diving accident

Scuba Diver Dies Off Palos Verdes Peninsula

Body Of Missing Scuba Diver Found Near Underwater Cave

LAFD Sonar Assists in Search Rescue and Recovery

A body located in Long Beach with sonar

The LAFD maintains and operates two types of marine sonar that assists in search, rescue and recovery.  Boat 2 operates an Edgetech Towfish Side Scan Sonar while Boat 4 operates a Kongsberg Mesotech Mechanically Scanned Sonar.  Both provide a broad range of versatility in the mapping and locating of submerged objects or victims.

About Sonar

Sonar, also written SONAR, is formally an acronym for Sound Navigation and Ranging. It connotes an acoustic system that can be used as an aid to navigation and that can determine the range, or distance, to objects, also called targets. The range r to a single target is determined by measuring the time of flight t of an acoustic signal, or ping, from its transmission to the reception of the echo,  Originally, development of sonar was spurred by the sinking of the “Titanic” through collision with an iceberg. The intention of the development was to devise an underwater collision-avoidance method. As the term is currently used, sonar refers to a system that can determine the range and direction to objects in the water column as well as boundary surfaces such as the sea floor.  The essential elements of sonar are (1) a transducer, (2) electronics to control the excitation of the transducer and reception of echoes, including their amplification and other processing, and (3) a display. Implicit in this definition is control or knowledge of the orientation of the transducer.

LAFD Towfish Side Scan Sonar 

FF Matt Fistonich prepares the towfish for deployment

A side scan sonar system uses acoustic energy to image the seafloor. The system consists of a self-contained sound source and receiver, housed in a submersible body that is towed from a surface vessel. The subsurface unit, or "towfish", transmits and receives acoustic energy in a wide band across the track of the towfish, and transmits the signal to a topside processor. The towfish is equipped with a linear array of transducers that emit and receive an acoustic energy pulse in a specific frequency range. The strength of the acoustic return varies with changes in the characteristics of the seafloor. In general, a seafloor with rough texture, such as gravel or boulders, will produce more backscatter in the return signal, resulting in higher amplitude. This pattern results in lighter shades of gray on the resulting side scan image. Smoother texture, such as a sand or mud-dominated seafloor, returns a darker image. As the towfish transverses the survey area, a strip image is produced by the processor. These strip images are then georeferenced and spatially integrated into a mosaic that represents the acoustic character of the seafloor.         

LAFD Mesotech Sonar

A marker references the location

It's design is targeted at bottom clearance and is ideal for body recovery and applications where data clarity supersedes any other requirement. This sonar is used from a fixed position and provides the ability locate and clearly define targets as well as measure distances and size.  One of the greatest advantages is the ability to monitor, track and direct divers for rescue or recovery.  It is particularly helpful in black water conditions with the ability to direct the rescue divers to the target.  Real-time data from the scanning sonar gives surface support personnel the perspective of what's happening on the bottom.  The sonar can "see" beyond the eyes of the diver and monitor the surrounding conditions.  

 For more information on sonar support see the link provided:

Sonar and Diver Support

Diver's bubble pattern can be seen approaching the victim

Public Safety Diver Monthly

The best online source for Public Safety Dive information.  The latest education and safety information and news for Fire, Police, Search and Rescue, Public Safety Dive Teams, Water Rescue Units and Underwater Crime Scene Investigation. 

Please take some time to read and educate yourself to the latest news and information for Public Safety Diving.

http://www.psdiver.com/imag/PSDiverMonthlyIssue79-secure.pdf

http://www.psdiver.com/images/PSDiverMonthlyIssue78-Secured.pdf

http://www.psdiver.com/images/PSDiverMonthlyIssue77-secure.pdf

http://www.psdiver.com

Public Safety Dive Training is Key

Today’s Fire Rescue services are being tasked with more and more duties that require unique types of training, such as Haz-mat, confined space, vehicle extrication, and other specialties.

Just as Fire Rescue services have numerous, growing specialties, water has so many different rescue facets that these teams also need to train for a multiple of operational capabilities. Additionally, as new equipment and techniques develop, teams need to train continuously, both within their departments and through professional trainers. Depending on your specific location, your team may need to be trained and be ready to respond to any one or a multiple of the following water operations, ranging from general search and rescue/recovery to large area search and underwater vehicle operations and salvage.

Despite all of their technical differences and varying training requirements, equipment, and support personnel, each of these water specialties have some factors in common.



A factor that all water operations have in common is the need for strong, organized command. In that regard, water operations are not all that different from any other type of Fire or Rescue response. Command needs to assure that all the operational and technical personnel are properly trained, dressed, and deployed for the operation at hand. If they are not, command has the responsibility to call for someone who is capable of performing a proper rescue.

Bearing this in mind, we will briefly examine a few aspects of rescue/recovery diving and some of its specialties to give a brief overview of the type of operations and training that a water rescue team may need to encompass.


General Rescue/Recovery Operations
Standard sport diving training is simply not enough to prepare a subsurface rescue/recovery team. Public safety diving in reality is a type of technical diving, and therefore demands highly trained, practiced personnel. Unfortunately, dive teams around the world continue to find themselves in situations that are beyond their ability. Luckily, more often than not they survive those situations with only near misses.


One of the major differences between sport diving and public safety diving is that public safety divers usually do not dive in buddy pairs. Instead, a single diver is deployed, linked to shore and a tender by a tether line. That tether line serves a three-fold purpose. First, it is a communication link to shore. Even if a diver has underwater communications, a series of line-pull signals will allow him to communicate any necessary information to his tender. Second, the tether allows a tender to direct the diver over an exact search pattern: if there is ever any slack in the tether, the tender knows that an area may have been missed, and can direct a better search of that area. Third, the tether is a direct link for a back-up diver to reach a primary diver who needs assistance. Without that link, the back-up diver may not find the primary diver in time to help.


There are numerous other permutations of tethered diving, including the use of blackwater diver-to-diver signals, hand-drawn profile maps of the area being searched, and equipment – such as harnesses, pony bottles, line deployment bags, and contingency lines – that are worthy of articles of their own. Suffice to say, these differences are mentioned here to illustrate the vast differences between sport diving and safe, technical search and rescue/recovery diving.


Large-area Search
For diving searches, most of the operational aspects of large area search remain the same as for general rescue/recovery diving. However, divers and shore personnel must be even more thoroughly trained and drilled in order to conduct the operation more smoothly and efficiently. The key to large area search is to ensure that areas are searched thoroughly the first time, so the operation can keep moving.

At least as important as smooth operations is narrowing down the search area based on information about the area one is searching and the item being sought. As an example, let’s look at an actual case. In August of 1997, Lifeguard Systems was called to assist in search for a young man who had drowned in a lake that was about 18 kilometers long and two kilometers wide. Our first step was to research weather conditions, winds, current, the place the young man had left shore, and his possible destinations. We then combined that information to create a much smaller search area. We found the body within that area within two days.


The most noteworthy aspect of large area search is that it cannot be conducted entirely from shore. Hence, diving operations must take place from a boat or floating platform, which in turn involves a triple-anchoring technique that allows the platform to remain in the same place, but be moved by extending some anchor lines and shortening others.
New technologies are also helping large-area search. With satellite technology, GPS, and, even better, DGPS, are giving teams a way to know a more exact location, even on the water’s surface with no landmarks visible. Also, side-scan sonar, which can paint a graphic image of objects on the bottom, can search wide swaths for an object as small as a human body.


Underwater Vehicle Extrication and Salvage
Submerged vehicle operations can be one of the most dangerous situations a public safety diver can encounter. When any vehicle enters the water, it automatically creates a contaminated-water situation as petrol, antifreeze, and oils begin leaking out. Those chemicals will burn skin and eyes on contact, and can cause lipoid pneumonia if even the slightest amount of contaminated water is aspirated. Hence, divers operating on submerged vehicles must be protected by drysuits, full-face masks, and drygloves, and must be thoroughly decontaminated after leaving the water.
Like ice, submerged vehicles create an overhead environment situation. Divers should avoid entering more than an arm’s length inside a vehicle, or they severely risk entanglement and entrapment.


As they explore submerged vehicles to find victims trapped within, divers should always stay low and use extreme caution. Air-filled objects, such as soda bottles or spare tires, become deadly missiles underwater as they seek to reach the surface. I will never forget the nearly-empty ammonia bottle that nearly decapitated me as I searched a van for its occupants.


Dive teams are often called upon to remove or salvage submerged vehicles. Remember, though, that unless that job is needed to assist with a rescue or a body recovery, vehicle salvage is the job of a wrecker crew or commercial divers. If your team must remove a vehicle, be sure that they have trained and practiced using the lift bag system both on land and in water before trying it in an actual situation. If a tow truck is being used to pull the vehicle out, be sure all divers are out of the water and away from the area before removing the vehicle. Remember, heavy salvage is the job of trained, commercial divers.


As we have mentioned, all of these various subsurface specialties, and public safety diving in general, have one big requirement: they demand, absolutely, thorough training and drilling by professionals. Anything less is simply means a tremendous risk for rescuers, and no victim deserves to die because of an inadequate, unrehearsed response.

Establishing A Successful Public Safety Dive Team

Whether you are an agency administrator attempting to establish a new PSD Team or one who has inherited a Team as a new assignment, establishing a successful Dive Team is now your “Prime Directive.” Within this article are some ideas and suggestions for making your time as Dive Team Commander a “crowning achievement” rather than a “cancer” to your career.


Administration
There is an old saying that purports, “you can’t have good fruits from bad roots....” This is so-so true in the PSD field. To be successful, the Dive Team must be led by an even-tempered, forward-thinking, dedicated, and responsible Commander. Next, there should be an operational leader, someone who is the administrator of the hands-on activities of the Team. To augment these two individuals, it is advisable to have other technical experts, when possible, such as a Hyperbaric/Diving Doctor, legal counsel, etc. When possible, a dedicated trainer should be assigned to conduct foundation (entry-level) and also in-service training. Teams without an in- house trainer should engage competent training and certification from a true PSD certifying entity, not just a person who may have a measure of experience. Housekeeping matters, such as inventory lists, equipment maintenance, vehicle issues, etc. may be handled by any one of the above or may be divided up among the individual divers in order to prevent any one person from being overwhelmed with responsibilities. One word to the wise, accountability is everything when it comes to successful administration. Any person with a responsibility must be held accountable for the proper fulfilling of his/her duty... or you can just forget any chances for success. Interpret that however you wish, it is an absolute fact.

Equipment
Herein lay some of the biggest questions, debates, and arguments related to Public Safety Diving. What equipment do you need, how much of it, and who pays for it... are questions that seem to have numerous answers. Here are a couple prudent suggestions. First, initiate a task-analysis project to determine what types of incidents the Team will respond to; then identify a range of equipment that will function in those incidents; then determine the best prices for the items; then establish priorities among each of the pieces of equipment; and finally, juggle your priorities with the available budget.

Another great idea is to find established Teams with similar deployment situations as you face, then analyze what equipment they have resolved to use. There are certain absolutes, which are identified as follows.
1.    Dry Suits, including attached latex hoods and environmentally-sealed gloves. Public Safety Diving often occurs in waters that contain biological hazards that would harm divers, if they became exposed. A reasonable-thinking person would be stunned to know of the amount of E-Coli, F-Coli, other bacteria, and parasites - just to name a few – that may be found in standing pools of water... or water from other sources which are frequented by waterfowl.
2.    Full-Face Masks with voice communications. Public Safety Diving is not Recreational Diving. Typical dive masks are just not good enough. Communicating with the diver(s) is critical to their safety. Most often, the PSD’s will deploy in “Black Water” – water that has absolute zero visibility. Full-Face masks are non-negotiable, as the life of the PSD is more critical than any mission. Should the PSD become entrapped or otherwise endangered, it is critical to know immediately and also the nature of the problem.
3.    Redundant Air Supply. This is a completely independent source of breathing gas that the diver may resort to if his/her primary gas supply becomes unavailable while underwater. This could be from a malfunctioning regulator or even a tank failure. Another common diver saying is “there’s just as much air on the moon as there is underwater...” Having backup breathing gas in zero-visibility water may very well mean the difference between life and death for the Public Safety Diver. Redundant Air cylinders should be at least 19cf size and have comparable quality regulators as the primary gas supply. According to the results of the task-analysis, other equipment items may also be non-negotiable. For example, if extreme frigid waters are present then environmentally-sealed regulators are an absolute.

Divers
How does a Commander choose divers for a new Team or determine if the established divers are truly suitable for the Team he is now responsible for? There are really only a few guidelines to follow for determining suitability.
1.    Calm, steady nerves. This refers to the candidates’ fundamental personality. Hyperactive or easily-agitated, as well as individuals who tend to be indifferent or slow data-processors, tend to over-react when faced with serious underwater challenges.
2.    Comfort level in the water. Some individuals, by nature, just act more comfortable underwater than others. Of course, the more comfortable one is, the less tunnel-vision arises when a challenge or problem occurs. This is an especially-critical element. Although not an assessment that works for every Team, a sample comfort-level assessment may be seen at www.wendellnope.com/diverassessment.wmv .
3.    Ability to process information while task-loaded. Even when there is no unplanned problem for a PSD, she/he has to contend with the air-less condition of being underwater, the discomfort of heavy gear, the visual-deprivation stress of Black Water, the limitation of performing “by feel only,” not to mention the objective of the dive (search, rescue, recovery, auditing, etc.). If you don’t think this requires multi-tasking, just watch the subtle body language of the diver in the above video as he doffs-dons his gear in that exercise. You will see him attempt to make everything just right for his return down to the dive gear. Then, when his descent is from a different angle than his ascent, he has to re-process his orientation. All this was done with a blacked-out mask. Even though this re-processing took less than 30 seconds, the diver would swear it was much longer! Many divers would just panic at this point, which a Public Safety Diver must not do or death is imminent.
4.    Team player. This cannot be emphasized enough. There is no “I” in a Dive Team... it is all “We.” It will be come obvious that certain Divers are better at U/W Photography or have better buoyancy, but the Team must be a cohesive unit. Just one person who doesn’t display a teamwork attitude can be a huge detriment to the Team’s success. You need not be a diving expert to recognize a problem persona on a Dive Team.

Training

Sgt. Mike Tueller locates a victim inside a simulated aircraft fuselage, while making his way through simulated debris and a variety of entanglement hazards. An opaque film inside his mask diminishes his visibility to almost zero.

 Again, this is an area which is best dealt with after a task-analysis. One extraordinary benefit of the Public Safety Diver training program is that it has already integrated all the fundamental PSD skills into its curriculum. Advanced training, such as WMD Diver Response (among others) is also available. Whether it is a drowning victim rescue, a homicide weapon recovery, a complex search pattern for a submerged vehicle, an underwater HazMat situation, a person who has fallen through the ice, etc., the most-commonly employed skill-sets in Public Safety Diving are contained in the training curriculum. Of course, there are other options for training resources, but a prudent question for an administrator to ask is, “where else can I find training that meets the fundamental needs of a Public Safety Diver AND complies with OSHA + NFPA standards ...?”

Certification 
The holder of an Public Safety Diver certification can be certain that a team of experts will follow him/her into court!

Certification is a critical feature among Dive Teams that are successful. Another common saying is “where there is no accuser, there is no crime ....” This means that as long as nobody cries foul, you can get along with any kind of certification, no matter if it is backed or not.  A true certifying entity, not just a person or group who espouses certain training technology and then issues a piece of paper that may not be back by credible professionals. One need only examine the track record of PSD agencies and its Technical Diving partners, to recognize the wealth of knowledge, skill, credibility, and legal resource available to the Certified Public Safety Diver.

A Public Safety Dive card and Professional card and the certificate that would accompany it have extreme value in any court of law, whether the case is civil or criminal in nature.

Deployments
Deployments define a PSD Team. If the majority of deployments consist of rescue-attempts, then that is where the administrative emphasis should be. Different deployment concepts exist for a Team that does primarily recoveries. And further, Teams that experience high altitudes or frigid water need even more specialized skills for their deployments. It is incumbent upon a Dive Team Commander to see that training, certification, and Standard Operating Procedures are reasonably established to provide the Diver with knowledge, skills, tools, and guidelines suitable for the type of deployment s/he is assigned to respond to.

See the very plain language in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling entitled Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989) which deals with the accountability imposed upon a government agency and its administrators, in this regard. The entire text of this case may be reviewed in detail by the reader at the following internet link

http://supreme.justia.com/us/489/378/ .

That having been said, the sole purpose of Dive Teams is to deploy. It is a noble function to risk one’s life to attempt a rescue, recover criminal evidence, return a lost loved one to the family, and the like. One of the most glorious experiences I have had in my life deals with recovering a drowned child and returning her to the family for closure and a proper burial. Read the details at www.wendellnope.com/pdiving6.htm and scroll down to photos #3 and #4.

Successful deployments begin with a plan. Establish a set of deployment procedures with the new Dive Team by referring to other Teams having similar functions. This is one area where it is not prudent to “re-invent the wheel.” With established Teams, contact a competent resource such as a veteran commander of a Team with similar functions and compare notes on deployment practices. Any reasonable Dive Team leader will be more than happy to share notes with you.

Standard Operating Procedures
Everything a PSD Team does must be authorized (or constrained) by reasonable Standard Operating Procedures, a.k.a., Policy & Procedure. Failure to have such is the precursor to disaster for an administrator and his/her agency. In this era of litigation, it is unconscionable to fail to have SOP’s. Dive Teams in your area or perhaps well-known and respected Teams will be pleased to share their SOP’s with you. Use a combination of them all to establish your new Team SOP’s or update the SOP’s you find already in place.

Auditing
Auditing the skills of Dive Team members is one of the most under-used administrative practices. Auditing shows that you are exhibiting “good faith” as an administrator and are not guilty of “deliberate indifference.” Those are legal terms used to determine the liability of the Dive Team Commander (if any) when somebody cries foul. Not only that, but auditing gives the commander an accurate assessment of his/her subordinates’ skills, especially when they are not used often. For example, it will not likely be a weekly occurrence that a diver will be called upon to collect a handgun used in a shooting from a neighborhood drainage pond. This skill can be maintained or audited via a blacked-out mask in a pool. Equally unlikely but just as important, are the skills of underwater photography and videography. These skills can be maintained and audited utilizing other objects during a training session. It is the skill to photograph and video that matters, not the object being documented.


Train Like You Deploy
Last of all, this suggestion will make a tremendous difference in the knowledge and skill of your Dive Team. It is of little use to train all the time in a pristine environment and then expect the Divers to function competently in Black Water. The optimal balance is to conduct reality-based training, except when a Diver needs remedial training on a particular skill. Repetitive self-rescue drills, entanglement drills, Black Water drills, and so on, will create within your Divers a spontaneous response in a real incident that is based in long-term memory. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Written by Wendell Nope Wendell Nope works as a Sergeant with the Utah Department of Public Safety. He is an Instructor at the Utah Police Academy, as well as the Trainer for the DPS Dive Team. He is an ERDI Instructor, as well as a TDI Advanced Trimix Diver and Full Cave Diver. He maintains an educational Police Diver website at www.wendellnope.com/pdiving1.htm and may be contacted at email wnope@utah.gov.

Public Safety Diver Monthly

The latest PSD monthly Issue #75 has just been posted.  

Loads of great PSD information and references.

http://psdiver.com/images/PSDiverMonthlyIssue75-secure.pdf

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Underwater Survey
 Company Helps Bring Closure
 To Families

By Mike Roberts

Language Barriers 

Regular Features:

News & Information for Water Rescue & Recovery Teams  
 

FOUND ON THE WEB - INFORMATION YOU CAN USE -
 

DIVING MEDICINE -EVENTS- CE- & MORE

362_Issue_75_Cover.jpg

Cargo Ship Collision

Click the image to see more photos of the tilting ship

MUMBAI, India – Indian authorities have plugged a fuel leak in a container ship that collided into another cargo vessel and spewed 500 tons of oil into the Arabian Sea, a top government official said Tuesday.

But the principal port of Mumbai — India's economic hub — near where the collision happened on Saturday would remain closed until at least Wednesday, because of the spill and 300 cargo containers that had fallen from one of the ships, causing a navigational hazard, the defense ministry said.

The Panamanian-registered MSC Chitra smashed into the St. Kitts-registered MV-Khalijia-II near Jawahar Lal Nehru port. The accident caused the MSC Chitra to run aground and list heavily. Its fuel and lubricants spilled into the sea.

By late Monday, the leak was plugged after about 500 tons had spilled out, Ashok Chavan, the top elected official of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, told reporters.

The oil slick has spread over an area of nearly three miles (five kilometers) around the ship, defense ministry spokesman Capt. Manohar Nambiar told The Associated Press.

The MSC Chitra is tilting dangerously into the water, but the spokesman said there appeared to be little chance of the vessel sinking because it had run aground on a large rock very close to the harbor where the water wasn't deep enough to submerge the entire ship.

The Khalijia-II also suffered some damage, though no details were immediately available.

News reports Tuesday said the collision occurred because of a failure of radio communication between the two ship. It was not clear what cargo they were carrying and whether it included any hazardous material.

Nambiar said Lal Nehru port would be closed at least until Wednesday.  One police officer fell off a patrolling speedboat and drowned, however, because neither the officer nor colleagues knew how to swim.

Destroyer Collides with Civilian Dive Boat

By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer

Posted : Thursday Aug 5, 2010 11:43:51 EDT

SAN DIEGO — The destroyer Shoup collided with a civilian craft in the waters off Southern California late Sunday night, causing “minor” damage to both vessels, 3rd Fleet officials said Monday morning. No one was injured.

“The incident is under investigation,” 3rd Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Greg Hicks said in a written statement. “There were no injuries reported and both vessels remained at sea under their own power with minor damage.”

The civilian boat, a 21-foot passenger craft that was on a dive trip was escorted to the harbor at Oceanside, Calif., said Lt. j.g. Sean Groark, a Coast Guard spokesman in San Diego. The collision happened about 56 miles northwest of Point Loma.

No other details were immediately available.

Shoup was participating in an at-sea training exercise with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the Southern California Operating Area, a large offshore training and weapons range.

Along with a rescue team from Shoup, the Coast Guard patrol cutter Petrel responded to the scene to assist.

Along with Shoup, Lincoln is conducting predeployment training with the destroyers Momsen, Halsey and Sterett and cruiser Cape. St. George.

Japanese Tanker Attacked

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Emirati state news agency says an explosive-laden dinghy had struck a Japanese oil tanker in thePersian Gulf last month.

It's the first official confirmation the incident was an attack.

The WAM news agency on Friday quoted an unnamed government official as saying the investigation revealed traces of homemade explosives on the hull of M. Star supertanker, which was damaged in the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway for 40 percent of tanker-shipped oil worldwide.

WAM says investigators believe a small boat with explosives had approached the tanker. A crew member was injured.

An obscure al-Qaida-linked group said Wednesday one of its suicidebombers attacked the tanker to avenge the plunder of Muslim wealth.

Appointments, Retirements and Transfers

Appointments
Michael Stephenson and Alvin Serpa have been appointed to Frontline Diver positions.  Both Firefighter/Divers are assigned to Fire Station 49-C, Boat 3.  Mike is currently on Military Leave serving our country as a Special Operations Chief with the US Navy Seal Team.

Retirements

 Gary Huddleston, Fireboat Mate, Fire Station 49-C, has retired after 33 years of service and Noel Murchet, Firefighter/Diver, Fire Station 110-A, retired with 32 years of service. Congratulations and best wishes.

Transfers
John Torres - FS 49-A to FS 110-C
Mike Padilla - FS 110-C to FS 110-C  

Woman, 40, Was Swimming With Partner 100 Feet Underwater At Yukon Dive Site In Mission Beach

Diver Surfaces Quickly, Taken To Hospital

POSTED: 12:54 pm PDT July 31, 2010

MISSION BEACH, Calif. -- A diver bolted to the surface from a popular dive site off Mission Beach Saturday and was taken by lifeguards and Fire-Rescue workers to a hospital.
San Diego Lifeguard spokesman Lt. Nick Lerma said the diver, a woman in her 40s, was swimming with a partner 100 feet underwater at the Yukon dive site when she made a free ascent to the surface at around 11 a.m., Lerma said.


Divers at that depth usually surface slowly to decompress and stabilize their bodies' nitrogen levels, he said.  When the woman surfaced, she said she felt sick, he said. The lifeguard was called, and several boats were sent to rescue her.  The woman was brought to shore, where she was picked up by paramedics and taken to a hospital. Lerma said he did not know what issue caused her to resurface or what her injuries were.

Woman in critical condition after being rescued by La Jolla lifeguards

July 19, 2010
An unidentified woman who was found unconscious Sunday morning in the waters off La Jolla Shores was in critical condition Monday morning.

"La Jolla Shores lifeguards Sunday observed a scuba diver on the surface of the water floating face down unconscious about 10:15 a.m.," said Lifeguard lt. Andy Lerum. "It was a female in her 40s and they brought her to the beach and began performing CPR."

Lerum said the woman was transported by paramedics to UCSD Thornton Hospital as medics continued CPR.

Lifeguards unsuccessfully contacted local diving groups in an attempt to identify the woman. Lerum said lifeguards also contacted other divers who had been diving near where the woman was found, and two of them said the woman had been with them when they went out to dive, but on the way out she told them she wasn't feeling well and had a leaky mask. She reportedly told them that she had decided not to dive and for them to go ahead and that she was returning to shore.

"Sometime between leaving them and going back to the beach, she had some sort of medical situation which ended up in her being unconscious," said Lerum.

Lerum said the report this morning from the hospital was that she was on a ventilator and showing very little brain activity.

Public Safety Diving

Emergency Response Diving International™ (ERDI) Veteran Instructor prepares Cousteau
ERDI Contaminated Water Ops Training selected for important mission!

Public Safety Divers have no choice when it comes to picking a dive site; they are compelled to dive wherever and in whatever the circumstances require. Often this translates to conducting dive operations in contaminated waters.


The result of dedication and weeks of hard work and special ERDI™ training were there for everyone to see as CNN reporter Amber Lyons did a back roll into the gulf waters affected by the DeepHorizon disaster. But this time the reporter did it correctly following appropriate contaminated water training and protocols from ERDI™; and protected by the right equipment. Ms. Lyons was accompanied by Philippe Cousteau, who she and CNN had convinced to return to check on the current status of the undersea environment in the Gulf. Cousteau had visited the waters earlier but by his own admission was far less prepared. The ardent environmentalist was one of the first to dive into the affected Gulf waters after the drilling rig explosion and resultant leak, to evaluate first-hand the extent of the damage. The Cousteau name is synonymous with the sea but Philippe, grandson of diving icon Jacques Cousteau, has forged his own reputation as a staunch protector and spokesman for environmental protection.

Buck Buchanan, a senior ERDI Instructor-Trainer with Dive911.com based out of Atlanta, Georgia, worked with CNN’s Amber Lyons and Philippe Cousteau in preparation for the televised report which was broadcast live on Friday, July 9. The three of them can be seen as they discuss their plan for the dive ahead of them.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...scube.dive.cnn

Buchanan’s role in the broadcast was to prepare the CNN cast and crew to function in the harsh conditions found in water contaminated by oil. All contaminated waters present serious health risks to those divers compelled to work in them, but none with more potential for post-dive complications and long-term threats to their well-being. What made this dive historic was this was the first time a live audio and video interview had been broadcast from underwater. This preparation consisted of Contaminated Water Ops Awareness and Technician-level training, setting up a full decontamination station on the surface, and supplying trained personnel to “clean the divers up when they were back on the surface,” without presenting further damage to the environment, divers or any member of the surface support team.

For a quick overview of the whole operation, take a minute to view these links to see ERDI training being put to good use by Ms Lyons and Cousteau.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...iref=allsearch

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...iref=allsearch

In what seemed an odd twist of events just weeks prior to the DeepHorizons catastrophe ERDI had launched its Contaminated Water Ops (CWO) program. The highlight of this launch was the onLine Contaminated Water Operations Awareness segment. In compliance with National Fire Protection Agency ERDI’s Contaminated Water Awareness Program is presented in Three (3) Levels: Awareness (open to all PSD personnel including non-diving team members) as well as Operations and Technician levels. The introduction of Awareness training helped to insure the maximum level of safety for PSD teams who are called on to dive in any type of contamination from oil to storm run-off, chemical pollutants or waste.

A generous educational grant just shy of $200,000 was given by ERDI to PSD Teams around the nation.
“Who knew what was coming next” stated Brian Carney, President of Maine-based ERDI, “had we known what was about to unfold we could have directed the major portion of our educational grant to the Gulf states.”
Carney mentioned that ERDI is working on ways to extend new grant money to allocate special CWO training to the area, “since we know that the fallout from this disaster has a real potential to play havoc with PSD teams in the Gulf Region for many many years to come.”
 

Dive References

Some additional information and educational resources for the Public Safety Diver. 
See the below links.

PSD Diver Monthly  -  A monthly newsletter that provides outstanding PSD information.  Current tech information and rescue news.  The newsletter can be accessed through -
PSD Diver.com

SCUBA Engineer - The best online technical resource for PSD dive teams.  Technical information, Recall information, Service information, Technician references and more.
 

Surface Rescue Training

LA City Lifeguards held a surface rescue training class at Fire Station 112. The training was held on all 3 platoons for  members assigned to Fire Stations with Fireboats.  The training was a combined classroom and practical (wet drill) that provided U.S. Lifeguard Association's basic surface rescue skills.


Dive Program Coordinator Steve Tessier begins the drill with introductions

LA City Lifeguard instructs members on flotation devices




Below- US Lifeguard Association C-Spine precaution for a suspected spinal injury with limited staffing. 2 member water rescue

Under Water Hazard Survey

Dive team prepares to depart aboard Skiff 3 out of Fire Station 49 for a underwater hazard survey.  The location of the survey was Berth 211 in LA's inner harbor. The dive team was assisted by Boat 4 and an underwater mapping sonar.  The Kongsberg Mesotech sonar is carried on Boat 4 and can be deployed to assist with search and recovery operations.  Members assigned to Fire Station 49 have been trained in the operation of the sonar.  Fireboat Mate Kelly McKee, Fire Station 49-A has just completed an extensive training course on it's operation.  "Training with this equipment needs to be ongoing to be proficient," states Mate McKee.  (Pictured- Divers Joe Carcomo, John Torres, Curtis Ogle, Dave Bender.  Skiff Operator Paul Hilleary)     

For additional information on using the Mesotech sonar see the following links:

 

Diver Positioning and Support

Directing Divers

Diver Safety

The mesotech on Boat 4 prepared for deployment

 

Underwater communication system set up on Boat 4 for communications with the dive team