Dive Rescue
What this domain covers
Dive rescue tests public safety diving - underwater search and recovery in zero-visibility, contaminated, or otherwise hostile water. It is not recreational diving: the diver is a working member of a team, on a tether, under a supervisor.
Team and rules
The minimum working team is a supervisor, a diver, a tender, a standby diver (dressed and 90% ready), and a standby tender. The standby diver is not merely 'on call' - they are in the harness with the regulator within reach.
- Every diver is on a tending line; the tender controls position and reads signals.
- Standard line signals, verified against your local SOP: one pull 'OK', two 'hold/stop', three 'come to the surface', four 'need assistance/emergency'.
- Surface-supplied air with a full-face mask and communications is preferred for contaminated or lengthy operations; scuba suits short, clean-water tasks.
- Contaminated water: dry suit, full-face mask, no exposed skin, and a decontamination plan for diver and gear.
- Plan the dive with tables or computers, track bottom time, and have oxygen and a decompression-illness plan on scene.
Worked example
A car is in 25 ft of water at a boat ramp with unknown occupants. You verify the team, brief the search pattern (a jackstay between two anchors, or a circular search from a central weight), assign a tender to each diver, dress the standby, and set the dive time. The supervisor stays at the surface with the log - the supervisor does not dive.
Traps
Solo diving. No standby diver dressed. Treating a warm-water recreational certification as a dive-rescue qualification. Skipping decontamination when the water is a storm drain.