Multi-Agency Training- LA County Sheriff Dive Academy

In June 2011, members of the LAFD Dive Search and Rescue Team participated in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dive Academy.  The training consisted of a intensive eight week public safety dive course that trained divers in a broad range of dive disciplines that included altitude dives, deep dives, helicopter insertions, current diving, night and limited visibility, surface air supplied, search and recovery.  

The LASD Dive Academy was presented through the LA Port Police Maritime Law Enforcement Training Center (MLETC) and the instructors were members of LA County Sheriff Special Enforcement Bureau (ESB), Emergency Services Detail (ESD) .  Dive team members from Long Beach PD, LA Port PD, LASD and LAFD attended.


"It was an excellent opportunity to cross train with the other agencies that operate in the harbor area" stated LAFD dive team member Steve Meiche.  "We did a broad range of operations and introduced to new techniques that will be useful when collaborating on missions with these agencies" continues Meiche .

Confined Water Training

Deputy Chris Young discusses lift bag fundamentals
during a confined water training session. 

Search, Recovery and Deep Dive Training in Catalina

LAFD joins LASD dive academy for a joint recovery operation off the coast of Catalina.  The mission was to locate and move a sunken 30' sailboat that posed a navigational hazard.  

Deputies Dave Carver and Felipe Diaz discuss the lift mission.

Divers prepare for the search and recovery. 

After a successful recovery, LASD dive boat tows the lifted
vessel to deeper water eliminating any navigation hazard.  

PDOG Wharf Search

Academy divers prepare to sweep under Berth 55 prior to the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in San Pedro.

Academy Divers Recovering Stolen Property in Bear Valley Lake

Academy divers line search for evidence as part of an investigation.  

The Special Enforcement Bureau Emergency Services Detail Dive Team from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Bear Valley Police Department and conducted a detailed and difficult search for stolen property at the Four Island Lake area of Bear Valley.

Helicopter Dive Operations

LAFD Fire 2 arrives at Castaic Lake for Helo dive op's
training with LASD

LASD Air 5

Fire Boat Mates Dave Bender and Todd Hix
following a long day of helicopter insertions
  

Additional photos

Special Feature- The “Cutting” Question

“Diving Education and Safety is a never ending process.  The day you loose the desire to improve your knowledge or skills, is the day you should hang up your regulator for good!”


By Lt. Tim Morin

Riverside County Sheriff Dive Team

So, you’re on a mission in limited visibility water and can barely see your gauges to check your air status.  Your team has been in the water for over four hours looking for what you have just found.  As you collect data for the report you will soon be writing, you feel that ever annoying yet recognizable tug somewhere on your SCUBA system.  It does not take long for you to realize that you have become entangled with multiple strands of both mono filament fishing line and what appears to be lines that your own team has introduced to the scene.

Being the superbly trained diver that you are, you calmly squint for a look at your gauge.  “No problem, plenty of air”, you think to yourself.  You stop and think in order to resolve your own problem as you have been trained.  You reach for your cutting instrument, your handy dandy dive knife with its serrated edge and line cutter, cool!  With the precision of Jim Bowie himself, you begin to hack your way out of your predicament.

As you begin the task of cutting your way out, you say to yourself, “Self, this is not as easy as it is supposed to be.”  Your breathing begins to increase as your workload rises and anxiety sets in.  Begrudgingly, you send line signals to your team above so they know there is a problem.  Help is on the way.   

As your back up diver arrives they see glimpses of what appears to be a Tasmanian devil spinning and slashing at the enemy with blade in hand.  Realizing that it would not be good to approach from the front, you are finally calmed when your buddy touches you on the shoulder and gives you the OK sign.  You relax as you feel what seemed like endless miles of line letting loose.  What had taken you so much energy and time to attempt with a knife, your buddy had accomplished in seconds with his $8.00 pair of EMT shears. 

Right about now you have drawn the line in the sand as a reader and jumped on one side of it or the other.  “What an idiot”, you proclaim!  “A knife works just fine in the hands of a competent diver.”   I agree.  However, let me point out some things that may change your mind. 

We have all heard the term “Muscle Memory” before, yes?  I discovered how prevalent this is quite by accident in past training with the RSO team.  While training for what we call stress inoculation, we built what amounts to be a cage constructed of PVC that is 10 feet long and four feet wide and tall.  With safety divers on both sides and in shallow water so the diver can stand up, the training diver enters the cage that is filled with crossed lines of various sizes to ensure beyond any doubt, that you will get tangled. 

The drill allows you to practice the skills of using your cutting tools in a controlled and safe environment.  It teaches you patience, to recognize where your problem is, to remain calm and not to frantically spin around.  Divers are allowed to enter the cage the first time and are encouraged to solve their problems without even using a tool.  After they are comfortable, they re-enter the cage with mask blacked out to simulate what most of us really dive in.

I was fascinated by what I saw.  From the most experienced divers, to the new boot on the team, cutting the lines with a knife presented some interesting challenges.  I could not for the life of me figure out why divers with thousands of dives and certifications galore were having similar problems as the folks with less than a hundred dives.  Then it hit me. 

How often throughout our lives have we used dive knives to cut things with vs. the thousands of things we have cut with scissors?  Muscle Memory!  Since we were kids, we have cut everything from strings and ropes to aluminum, pennies and your brother’s favorite pajamas.  Sorry mom!  It should not surprise each of us to hear that it is easier to do. 

Prove it for yourself.  Grab a small rope and try it with your team members, but don’t tell them what you are doing.  Observe.  What you will see is that everybody uses the knife in a different way; some with more success than others.  With the scissors, everybody will cut the rope and look at you as if to ask, “What’s the big deal?”

I have watched as divers have almost cut themselves, their buddies, their air hoses, their own safety lines, and anything else they can grab as they pass through the entanglement cage.  Where it takes most experienced divers 2-3 minutes to clear themselves with a knife, the same diver can do it in half of that with scissors and with much less thrashing about and near misses.  Don’t take my word for it, try it yourself.  You don’t even need to be in the water. 

Now for those of you who are asking yourself who is this pacifist and how dare he suggest we give up our knives.  Slow your role cowboy, I never suggested you give up your knives.  Heaven forbid you give up that custom 10” titanium Spartan short sword you bought on sale at the local swap meet.  No, you may still need that for prying yourself out of some other predicament you get yourself into.  I am certain that is what most divers use knives for anyway! 

I am merely suggesting that scissors, EMT shears, have proven to be much more efficient at cutting lines than knives.  I suggest that all Public Safety Divers carry both and practice with both.  If you already do, then kudos to you!  By doing so, you become a stronger asset to yourself and your team mates.  I have implemented this with my basic students in the private sector as well.  It just makes good sense!  Stay safe out there!!                                                    

About the Author

Tim Morin is a Lieutenant with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office (RSO). He is a former member and instructor for the RSO Underwater Search and Recovery Team.  He is an active NAUI instructor, #6067, SDI, TDI, and ERDI instructor #13141and is also a past DRI instructor for DR-I, #2330.

He began his diving career at Long Beach State University in 1977.  He became completely engrossed in diving quickly becoming an assistant at the university and eventually graduating from the NAUI-ITC in 1981. 

With over 4000 dives to his credit, he continues to train and be trained.  With an active dive instruction, travel and recovery business, he continues to be very busy in the diving industry.  

Indianapolis Fire Dive Team

                                 
By News Staff Fox59

10:44 p.m. EDT, July 5, 2011

Indianapolis—

A man who fell into the White River while fishing was pulled out of the water late Wednesday evening.
Witnesses say a middle aged black male was fishing in the White River near Bush Stadium before he fell into the water just before 9 pm.

The IFD dive team arrived to the river and had divers in the water in less than 10 minutes from receiving the 911 call.  The diver found the victim within 30 seconds of searching and brought him to the shore.
Paramedics were able to begin working on the victim immediately.

He was taken to Methodist Hospital in critical condition.                                                        

Stricken Ship Cracks As Captain Faces NZ Court

Click here for more photos

TAURANGA, New Zealand (AP) — A cargo ship that has spilled hundreds of tons of oil since striking a reef off New Zealand's coast appeared to be breaking up in heavy seas, as its captain faced criminal charges in court Wednesday.

A vertical crack was apparent from the deck to the waterline of the Liberian-flagged Rena, which ran aground Oct. 5 on Astrolabe Reef, 14 miles (22 kilometers) from Tauranga Harbour on New Zealand's North Island. About 70 containers have fallen off the deck of the 775-foot (236-meter) vessel as it has listed increasingly in the worsening ocean conditions.

Maritime New Zealand, which is managing the emergency response, described the crack as a "substantial structural failure" and warned that the stern may break away. Three tug boats were mobilized to hold the stern on the reef while efforts are made to remove the oil from the ship, or to tow the stern to shallow water, the agency said in a statement.

Weather on the reef was terrible Wednesday, with swells up to 16 feet (5 meters), Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Jones told The Associated Press. The brutal conditions were making it impossible for a salvage crew to board the ship, he said. Without the salvage crew aboard, oil cannot be pumped out of the ship.

"It's appalling," Jones said of the weather. "Everything is still in a holding pattern."

Forecasters were predicting the swells would ease to 6 feet (2 meters) by Thursday, at which point salvage crews might be able to try to board the ship, Jones said.

The piles of containers that remain on deck have continued to move, making it dangerous for salvage crews to work on board. Six vessels have been mobilized to intercept the drifting containers and other debris in the water.

There were 1,368 containers on board, 11 of which contained hazardous substances, the maritime agency said. The containers with hazardous materials were not among the 70 that had fallen overboard, Jones said. Still, it is highly likely that more containers will topple off because of the rough weather and the ship's steep list, he said.

The 44-year-old Filipino captain, whose name has not been revealed publicly, was charged with operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk and was released on bail Wednesday at Tauranga District Court. The ship's second officer is to face a similar charge on Thursday.


The captain's lawyer, Paul Mabey, requested that Judge Robert Wolff withhold his client's name because, he said, "there is a real potential that some persons may want to take matters into their own hands," the New Zealand Herald reported on its website. It also said the grounding occurred on the captain's birthday.

If convicted, the captain could face a fine of up to 10,000 New Zealand dollars ($7,800) and 12 months in prison. His next court appearance is Oct. 19, when authorities say more charges are likely.

Maritime New Zealand commander Nick Quinn said his priority remained cleaning up the oil.

"Until now, we have had a light oiling of beaches," he said. "This will significantly increase as more oil washes ashore over the coming days."

The government has demanded to know why the ship crashed into the well-charted reef in calm weather, but the vessel's owner has given no explanation.

Maritime New Zealand estimates that between 220 and 330 tons (200 and 300 metric tons) of heavy fuel oil have spilled from the hull, leading New Zealand's environment minister, Nick Smith, to call it the country's biggest maritime environmental disaster.

Officials believe the ship had about 1,870 tons (1,700 metric tons) of oil and 220 tons (200 metric tons) of diesel on board before it started leaking.

Clumps of oil have washed up on pristine beaches near Tauranga. Maritime New Zealand spokeswoman Anne Coughlan said 200 oiled birds had been found dead and 41 others were being cleaned at a wildlife emergency center.

Witnesses said dead fish were also washing ashore as local volunteers with plastic gloves and buckets worked to clean the oily clots from the white sand.

In a statement, the owners of the vessel, Greece-based Costamare Inc., said they were "cooperating fully with local authorities" and were making every effort to "control and minimize the environmental consequences of this incident." The company did not offer any explanation for the grounding.

Public Safety Diver Monthly

In This Issue of PSDiver Monthly:

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WATER RESPONSE TRAINING COUNCIL

The first brick of the foundation has been set!

  ****

Lexington Fire Department Dive Team

  ****

VideoRay International Partnership Symposium 2011

Perspectives from a first time participant

 

  ****

 Saltwater Aspiration Syndrome

 

   *********************

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Portland Fire & Rescue Dive Team

September 23, 2011

Portland Fire & Rescue Dive Team Locates Car, Victim after Seawall Breach

Portland Fire & Rescue responded to reports of a vehicle that entered the Willamette River. Initial reports indicated that around 2:45 am, a car left the Hawthorne Bridge and landed in the river. However, upon further investigation it was determined that the vehicle apparently was driving eastbound on SW Salmon Street and for unknown reasons went through the Salmon Street Fountain, breached the seawall at Waterfront Park, and entered the Willamette River.




Firefighters, including Portland Fire & Rescue's Dive Team, responded at 2:58 am. Four firefighters specially trained as divers began a rescue operation to locate the car in the river and search for possible victims. Divers located a Toyota Camry in the river and brought up a single victim at approximately 3:27 am - a female in her late 30's or early 40's.

　

Baltimore Fire Department Dive Rescue Team

See their website

http://bcfddiverescue.com/

Virginia Police Officer Dies During Training

CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- A veteran member of the Police Department's dive team died Tuesday after struggling to breathe while submerged during a training exercise at Oak Grove Lake Park.

Officer Timothy Schock was taking part in search-and-rescue training around 11:45 a.m. when he had difficulty breathing, according to a statement from Police Chief Kelvin Wright.

When Schock surfaced, he told his team partner, who was with him during the training, that he couldn't breathe, Wright wrote. Schock's partner immediately tried to give him his own respirator, "but under the stress and duress of the situation, Officer Schock pushed away the apparatus and went back under water," according to Wright.

Divers on shore helped get Schock back to the surface and onto land, where they performed CPR, according to Wright. Emergency crews from the Fire Department continued lifesaving efforts.

The officer was taken to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Wright said the circumstances of Schock's death are under investigation.

Schock worked for the department for 16 years, including about eight on the dive team, police spokeswoman Kelly O'Sullivan said. The officer, whose age was not available, had a teenage son, she said.

Schock is the third Chesapeake police officer to die in the line of duty in the past six years. In October 2005, Officer Michael Saffran, 45, was fatally shot while responding to a bank robbery. In January 2008, Detective Jarrod Shivers, 34, was killed during an attempt to serve a search warrant.