PSD Classes

In addition to these skills, the advanced public safety diver course solidifies a PSD’s capability to perform in a variety of challenging conditions. Divemasters and instructors emphasize rescue simulations, underwater navigation, and evidence recovery procedures. The field demands an unwavering commitment to thorough preparation and continual skill enhancement to uphold the highest standards of public safety and health.

Public Safety Diving Operations

In this section, we highlight essential operational strategies and support systems crucial to the success of public safety diving missions. Our focus ensures effective search and recovery efforts while prioritizing diver safety.

Search and Recovery Techniques

Our dive teams implement comprehensive search and recovery techniques to handle a variety of underwater situations. Search patterns we routinely employ include grid, jackstay, spiral, and circular techniques, designed to methodically cover areas of interest.

• Grid Search: We lay out search lines in a known pattern to ensure thorough coverage of the search area.
• Jackstay Search: Similar to the grid but involves divers following ropes anchored to the bottom.

Advanced equipment plays a critical role in visibility diving. Utilizing sonar, underwater communication, and lift devices, we can search and recover in challenging conditions, such as those with zero visibility. Our dive teams often train in PADI Public Safety Diver courses, which teach specialized diving skills and foster adeptness in recovery operations.

Diver Support and Incident Command

Safety divers are a non-negotiable aspect of our operations, providing immediate assistance if a diver faces distress. Surface support personnel coordinate diver rotations, monitor conditions, and manage equipment necessities.

• Incident Command: Our structured approach to managing operations, including clear leadership roles and objectives, aligns with best practices and ensures fluid communication across our team.

Our diving skills extend beyond the water; we practice and perfect incident command and diver support systems during both eLearning sessions and in-water training. Practical exercises reinforce our ability to adapt to varying scenarios, including zero visibility or complex search and recovery challenges. We require all public safety personnel to maintain advanced dive rescue international (DRI) certifications and encourage them to exceed the advanced open water level.

Every member of our PSD teams understands that, regardless of their role, they contribute to our core mission: effective and safe public safety diving operations.

Specialized Public Safety Diving Tactics

We understand that public safety diving involves a unique set of challenges that require specialized tactics. Safety divers and instructors are key to managing these risks effectively.

Utilizing Full Face Masks and Dry Suits

When we conduct an advanced public safety diver course, our primary concern is to ensure divers can effectively use full face masks and dry suits. Full face masks provide integrated communication systems allowing us to maintain contact in unpredictable environments. The PADI Public Safety Diver course typically emphasizes these skills, considering their importance in enhancing underwater communication and protection against contaminants.

Dry suits are essential for us when diving in contaminated water incidents or under cold conditions. They offer thermal protection and, importantly, prevent water from coming into direct contact with the skin. Our instructors are proficient in training how to properly don and doff dry suits, as mishandling can lead to potential hazards.

Navigating Low Visibility and Hazardous Conditions

Navigating low visibility conditions is a reality for us. We emphasize training in zero visibility environments, often found in pool sessions before advancing to open-water scenarios. The SSI Public Safety Diver and SSI Rescue Team Diver programs incorporate digital learning with practical exercises to prepare us for the unpredictability of in-water incidents.

In hazardous situations, we employ specific search patterns suited to varying types of visibility diving. Techniques such as line-tethered searches and electronic search methods help us maintain orientation and safety. It is essential for us, and any safety diver, to master these tactics to efficiently locate objects or victims in water incidents where the standard visibility diving protocol is not viable.