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Hi guys,
As a newly-certified Open Water I diver with aspirations, I've made it a
point to look beyond the above-water technical training and pay attention
to the suggestions made by those in the cave and wreck diving community who
are relying on their equipment for their livings and their lives. Heck,
you guys have probably spent more time ASLEEP in the water during deco
stops than I've spent in diving for the C-card, so your insight is
invaluable. Where "little" things like suicide clips and left post roll
off might receive nary a mention in the Open Water classroom, I'd just as
soon know about it before hitting the water and finding myself with a
dangerously configured BC.
Joe Boone's recent comments on the firefighting SCBAs and Wendell Grogan's
thoughts on careful placement of gear bring a question to mind that I have
yet to receive a answer for that goes beyond conjecture.
The firefighting and confined space SCBAs, though usually single bottles,
are always mounted in the AirPak frames with the tank valves down. The
valve knob is at waist level on the right where it is easily found and
turned with the right hand. In this position, there is little question
whether the valve is being turned in the correct direction if intending to
open or to close the valve. Where the tank valve is low, the high-pressure
hose is run straight up the side of the pack and over the shoulder,
decreasing the danger of entanglement due to looped hose. Additionally,
the top of the tank is free from valves, knobs, regulators and hoses in the
direction of travel. As such, the majority or entanglements seem to occur
between the tank and the AirPak frame and are immediately relievable by
reaching back over your shoulder and pulling the entangled object away from
the tank.
From an above-water firefighting perspective, this configuration seems
ideal in both accessibility to valves and for decreasing entanglement risk.
Is there a mechanical or physiological reason to explain why SCUBA
configuration places the valves at shoulder level?
Regards,
Keith M. McDonald
Pilgrim Station Special Operations
Middleboro Special Police Officer
http://www.tiac.net/users/maglight
There but for the grace of God go I. ~ ~
Nuclear SWAT, Municipal Police Officer, EMT-B, Firefighter @ @
-----------------------------------------------------------oOOO-(_)-OOOo-
POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS - POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS - POLICE LINE -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
At 07:56 AM 4/4/00 -0400, you wrote:
>I think you've hit on a key element for safe diving. Somehow, we've got
>to get people thinking and doing it right from the very beginning.
>There's no reason why PADI can't emphasize careful placement of gear,
>not leaving spare regs and spg's dangling all over the place, etc. in
>their basic classes. From my years of teaching, I know that its much
>easier to teach someone who might not know as much theory, but has
>learned the basic approach correctly.
>Wendell G
>
>Jbdvr@ao*.co* wrote:
>>
>> List,Being a cave diver and firefighter/paramedic with a ''good size'' fire
>> dept,(20 stations and 375 members) for the last 17 years. i often think how
>> DIR is almost universely practiced in emergency services, vs ''personal
>> preference''. From day one in rookie school you are taught how to rig and
>> wear protective equipment including the air mask in a safe and streamlined
>> manner. Everyone is required to wear their gear whether dept issued or
>> purhased by oneself in a similar manner, so that in a dangerous enviroment,
>> with zero-vis, in a unfamiliar location,( like cave diving?) in a out of
air
>> emergency, each firefighter can locate his buddy by touch contact alone and
>> locate his regulator to begin emergency air sharing. this is drilled
into the
>> new firefighter in burn buildings for weeks on end. i can't imagine how
many
>> firefighter deaths we would have if each member was allowed to configure
>> their gear according to their own personal preference. I asure you it would
>> be a huge cluster f... Even the pumpers and ladder trucks or set-up in a
>> similar manner so anyone can locate a critical piece of gear off of any
>> vechile in a emergency. As for George Irvine being a loud mouth hard
ass, you
>> should hang around a firehouse for a few years and listen to the veteran
>> firefighters go after the shiny new rookies that act like they know
>> everything when in fact they have yet to puke into their mask at a major
>> structure fire. It reminds me of the wild kingdom T V show where the lion
>> goes after the gazzel. NOT a pretty site! joe boone
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