What is Public Safety Diving ?

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team is a Public Safety Diving team it is NOT a diving club.

Public Safety Diving is Extremely Dangerous when not taken very seriously.

Some missions undertaken by public safety divers include:

Dive rescue, ice rescue, swift water rescue, victim recovery and identification, crime scene investigation, weapons recovery, vehicle recovery, and accident investigation.

These missions occur at all hours and in all conditions — in polluted waters, high mountain lakes, icy rivers and zero visibility water.

This is an example of black water diving, which are common working conditions for a Public Safety Diver. In these conditions, the diver is relying totally on the tender on the surface to give them directions, monitor the time they have been underwater to calibrate air consumption and to send help in the event the diver has an issue. This is all done through tugs on a rope or voice communications. The Side Scan sonar we have allows us to see the diver and once we have voice communication talk to the diver to guide them around hazards, to a item of interest and limit the divers exposure to hazardous conditions in the water.

Example of Entanglement Drill. One of the most common hazards a Public Safety Diver runs into underwater in black water is becoming entangled in discarded nets, rope or line. That is the reason every diver must be very skilled in working through issues like entanglement without panicking.

Example of Buddy Rescue Blackout Drill. One of the most common hazards a Public Safety Diver runs into underwater in black water is becoming entangled in discarded nets, rope or line. That is the reason every diver must be very skilled at not only working through issues like entanglement but rescuing the primary diver that is running out of air and cannot get out of the issue by themselves. All without the aid of your sight now it must be done with no voice communication just touch.