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Scuba Center Eagan
1571 Century Point
Eagan, Minnesota 55121
(651) 681-8434 |
Scuba Center Minneapolis
5015 Penn Ave South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419
(612) 925-4818 |
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Public Safety Diver Training
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At Scuba Center we've been
teaching scuba diving classes since 1973.
We were Minnesota's first PADI 5 Star
Training Facility and have grown to become
Minnesota's largest Scuba School.
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What is Public
Safety Diving? |
Public safety dive teams
search for lost or deliberately discarded objects and
sometimes participate in criminal investigations. Their
work can help provide legal and emotional closure and
the job can be very rewarding.
Public safety
divers may be called upon to look for evidence, locate
underwater vehicles and missing people, but not all
public safety dive team members get in the water.
Surface support personnel handle important topside
tasks, such as scene management and witness interviews. |
Advanced Training
and Skills |
Public safety diving
requires special training and a significantly different
mindset than recreational diving. Public safety divers
may be asked to dive in limited visibility and other
hazardous conditions.
Public safety divers must
have excellent search and recovery skills, learn special
communication procedures and master self-rescue
techniques. They also need topside training on how to
manage a scene, bag evidence and interact with
witnesses. |
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Frequently Asked
Questions: |
Q: Do you have to be
associated with or employed by a public safety diver
team (law enforcement, fire department, etc.) to take
the PADI Public Safety Diver course? |
A. No, not for PADI’s Public
Safety Diver, Surface Support Specialist or Advanced
Public Safety Diver-level courses. However, your PADI
Public Safety Diver Instructor does need to be
affiliated with a public safety diver team.
If
you’re already affiliated with a team, this training can
enhance your capabilities within the organization. If
you want to become a professional public safety diver,
this training and experience may help you gain entrance
onto a team. |
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Q. Is a PADI Public
Safety Diver certification an official credential? |
A. The PADI Public Safety
Diver program provides the foundational knowledge and
experience public safety divers need to address
challenges they may encounter in the field. Many
professional public safety dive teams choose PADI
training for their vocational or volunteer team members.
That said, a PADI Public Safety Diver or Advanced
Public Safety Diver certification is not a
professional/vocational credential or license by itself.
Many dive teams have a PADI Public Safety Diving
Instructor on staff. Any dive team, department or other
organization offering PADI training would be the entity
to offer a vocational or professional credential, if
available. |
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Q. Why choose PADI
Public Safety Diver training? |
A. PADI public safety diver
training takes place in realistic environments – not
swimming pools. Also, our programs have the highest
diver and experience prerequisites in the industry for
foundational training. Students must have a
PADI Advanced Open
Water Diver certification (or equivalent) to begin
the PADI Public Safety Diver course and must be
certified Rescue Divers
by the end. This requirement, when combined with our
robust public safety diver training, results in a highly
confident and competent dive team member.
Taken
together, PADI public safety diver training programs can
help improve the overall safety and efficiency of teams
who use these programs compared to those who do not. |
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Q. What specialty
diver courses are beneficial for public safety divers? |
A. The PADI
Dry Suit Diver and
Full Face
Mask Diver courses are at the top of the list. Most
public safety divers use a dry suit not only for warmth
but also protection from possibly contaminated water. A
full face mask offers the same protection and is often
fitted with communication gear that lets you speak with
other team members. Other helpful specialties include:
Emergency
Oxygen Provider,
Night Diver,
Search and Recovery Diver,
Self-Reliant
Diver, Ice Diver
and Underwater
Navigator. |
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Q. Do I have to
complete Incident Command (ICS) Training? |
A. No. ICS training is
required for Public Safety Diver Instructors based in
the United States or in areas that operate under US
Operational Guidance. However, this type of training may
provide useful background information and may be
required as part of your dive teams training. This
training is available online for free at
training.fema.gov/nims/. |
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Q. What about NFPA
and OSHA compliance? |
A. PADI Public Safety Diver
courses (PSD and Advanced PSD) do generally meet/address
specific NFPA standards found in NFPA 1006 and in 1670
and are designed to be compliant with applicable OSHA
regulations. PADI’s PSD and APSD courses are designed to
meet or exceed those competencies established by NFPA
1006 and 1670. With the exception of the disciplines of
Ice (9.3.7), Sur (9.2.8) or Swift Water (9.3.9).
As part of your PSD training and where required we
encourage you to review the most current National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) Standards 1006, 1561,
1670, with your instructor. These items may be found
online at
www.nfpa.org.
It may also be prudent to
review the most current OSHA regulations and standards,
such as Part Number 1910, Subpart T, Standard Number
1910.401, as applicable – These items may be found
online at
www.osha.gov.
There may be other operational
guidance from regulatory bodies depending on your
location. Be sure to thoroughly research, review and
incorporate all applicable regional
guidance/requirements as appropriate to your location.
For example from:
The Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) – United States of America
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – United Kingdom
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
(CCOHS) – Canada Australian Institute of Health and
Safety (AIHS) – Australia |
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Public Safety Diver
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PADI Public Safety Diver |
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The PADI Public Safety Diver course builds a
foundation of comprehensive knowledge and skills that a competent
PSD needs to operate safely and proficiently in a wide variety of
environments. The eLearning content explains what it takes to become
a public safety diver and teaches the learner about the specialized
procedures, equipment, scene handling techniques, communications,
search and rescue techniques, and documentation procedures for
public safety diving. Divers also learn key safety concepts and
procedures to apply during the course’s four open water dives that
include various training stations and participation in realistic
scenarios. |
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PADI Advanced Public Safety Diver |
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PADI Advanced Public Safety Diver course advances a
public safety diver’s skill to more complex missions and
environments. The course builds on a PADI Public Safety Diver’s
capabilities by focusing on away-from-shore rescue and introductory
recovery skills and knowledge. It also introduces boat-based and
submerged-vehicle operations, provides more training on redundant
systems, and includes a primer on evidence and law enforcement
recovery diving. |
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Surface Support / Tender
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PADI Surface Support Specialist |
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PADI Surface Support Specialist is a
sub-set of the Public Safety Diver course for nondiving team
members. Students learn to assist with diver preparation, act as
line lenders during searches, respond to emergency signals and
provide general scene management and land-based support for the
mission. Surface Support Specialists are important members of a PSD
team and contribute to the team’s effectiveness and success. |
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Safety and Medical
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Emergency First Response (EFR) |
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CPR and First Aid |
This course is designed
for anyone who wants to learn or update CPR and First Aid skills.
During the Emergency First Response program you will also receive
training for Automated External Defibrillators (AED). While this
course is not diving specific, it meets PADI requirements for the
PADI Rescue Diver and Divemaster certifications. |
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PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider |
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Knowing how and when to
use emergency oxygen is a great skill to have and means you’re ready
to help others should the need arise. Becoming a PADI Emergency
Oxygen Provider lets you breathe easy knowing that you can recognize
scuba diving illnesses treatable with emergency oxygen, and are
prepared to offer aid. |
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Forms and Reference
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