By: Robert J. Stichter

Robert J. Stichter — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:27:32 +0000

Good morning,
I too am a water rescue instructor as well as a PSD Insturctor…the first time I put on SCUBA was when I was 12 years old with the fire department as a Jr.We were in the pool for new PSD diver training. It was a single 72 CUFT with a “J” Valve, 1st stage and a 2nd stage, a blacked out mask and I was secured to my harness…as the Captain of the Team stated to me, “just relax and breath”…”If you want to be a tender you have to know what it is like to be the diver”. I will never forget that. I’m now 45 and a full time fire fighter on the rescue truck. As time changes and technology has changed, so did the dive gear and the way we dive…now I use Nitrox or tri mix, some type of full face mask, (AGA or SL27) with surface supply air. When I first showed up at a training session in the summer time with my dry suit, I was laughed at, because it was summer and I was going to sweat my ass off, as they said to me when i was doffing my gear. My comment to them was, “When you come out of the river and you stink of the river water because you are in a wet suit, just think where else that sinky water as entered your body?” The llok on their faces was more then enough for me to know I had them thinking. Now a days, if you don’t where a dry suit and you have a comp claim, they will ask you if you were in a dry suit.
Training…I teach PSD for the State, County and Local teams in my area as well as run with them…What I have come across and still have come across are the NEWLY Certified divers that went thru open water, advanced and then thier Recreational RESCUE DIVER Certification programs…they come to me and tell me they are rescue diver and want to join the dive team…of course I ask if they are open water certified/ They proceed to tell me all their certifcations and their 60 dives in the quarry or the carabean. I then say to they, all I asked was are you a open water certified diver? Because what ever else you have doesn’t matter to me since you will be going thru a long training period where what ever you learned in your recreational diver training, 95% doesn’t apply here. Then they say…and I love this part, “I’M A CERTIFIED RESCUE DIVER!”…I then TRY to explain to them the difference between, recreational diving and PSD diving…then the OOOOOHHHH…I didn’t know that…sometimes they walk away, sometimes they want to know more…
We just finished up our winter session of new PSD divers and they are now doing their open water check out dives in the black water of the river, lakes and quarries we have in our area…I started out with 16 new potential divers and ended up with 5 to complete…I explain to them as it was explained to me 30 plus years ago…I’m not here to hold your hand, you have a situation you need to deal with it yourself…if you have to wait for your safety diver, you will be dead! You get your line fowled, unfowl it. and so on…the diver that come out of this, are more experienced and confident in themselves and as a team to do a mission.
Thank you for posting this artical. I will be passing it on.
Chief Robert J. Stichter

By: POLICEDIVER

POLICEDIVER — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:50:23 +0000

If anyone requires further info. on how to get in touch with a PSD agency or training agency I can be reached at:
policediver16773@policeone.com
Tom

Comments on: What is a public safety diver (Police, fire, EMT diver)?

By: Robert J. Stichter

By: POLICEDIVER