Post by SeaRat on Jul 4, 2018 22:38:20 GMT -8
I had not planned this, but after watching the news about the Thai soccor team that's trapped by water, and their discovery by British cave divers. I felt that I needed to post on Facebook. I am a member of the "Scuba Accidents and Risk Management Techniques for Divers" Facebook group, which includes 27,063 members from all over the world. Here is my post:
I am hoping to actually get this to the Thai SEAL Team, and others who are directly working on this rescue. So far, I have had 32 "Likes" and 7 shares (I shared it too on my own Facebook page, for 8 total shares). I included several photos, which are below. I'll keep you informed about whether this has had any effect at all, but from the comments there is a possibility of that happening.
John
This page out of "The Living Ses," by Jacques Cousteau and James Dugan, shows very young children diving SCUBA at depth (probably the Cousteau kids are there).
I have been following with extreme interest the rescue efforts of the Thai soccor team trapped in a flooded cave. There have been good updates here on the Scuba Accidents and Risk Management Techniques for Divers Facebook page too. Then, just a few minutes ago, I heard that the option of keeping the kids in place for months until the water level drops has been rejected in favor of bringing them out by scuba. I agree with this decision, and I'd like to express why. This post may be used by anyone, and I encourage any with direct connections to the rescuers in Thailand to forward it to them.
Now, kids have been diving at very young ages since the beginning of diving with the aqualung. Cousteau himself filmed this in the early 1950s, and published it in his book, "The Living Sea" (see the photo below, from third from the last photo page from that book). So kids can dive, even with limited scuba skills. Cousteau commented that the only problem he had with the kids was keeping the mouthpieces in their mouth when they wanted to talk to tell each other of things that they saw.
Last week, I made a dive at my High Rocks area, and ended it by surfacing in front of a Hispanic family I had helped earlier. I had found a dive mask while in the river scuba diving, and I gave it to the young child. The grandfather said the kid did not know how to swim, so I decided to give him an impromptu lesson on drown-proofing. It involved having him in chest-deep water in a cove in the river bank, having him take a deep breath, put his hands on his knees, then slide them down to his ankles. He of course started floating. He stood up, and I coached him to put his hands again on his ankles, and slide them up to his knees to stand up. The second try, he did that, and stood up easily. The third thing I had him do was to repeat the exercise, then extend his arms out in front of him, and his legs behind him. He did this, and then brought his hands to his ankles again and slid them up to his knees to stand up. I then had him repeat this about three times. Then, I told him to get into the layout position, bring his hands sharply down and lift his head above water to grab a breath, kick with his feet and put his head back into the water. This he did, and found that he could stay floating indefinitely using this technique. It's called "Drownproofing," and can be learned in about ten minutes. He was getting cold, so he got out, warmed up, then went back into the water with his mask (which he used in this exercise too), and began exploring the cove. He had no fear, and was simply enjoying the water.
Now, about the kids in Thailand. I have a lot of experience in the safety field, and a lot has been made about the hazards of bringing the kids out on scuba. But not much about the hazards of leaving them there indefinitely.
In the USAF, as a Pararescueman, we had what we called "Immediate Emergencies" and "Delayed Emergencies." An illustration of an immediate emergency was once when we had a helicopter engine failure while over the Columbia River--we were going down, now! We had to implement immediate emergency procudures, such as buckling into the seats and awaiting our pilot's autorotation manouver to get us safely down--he did, and luckily we landed in a pasture on the north shore of the Columbia River, rather than in the water. But that's an example of an immediate emergency.
The kids in Thailand are in a "delayed emergency." They are not in immediate danger, but they cannot stay where they are indefinitely. If we use the ANZI-Z10-2005 Risk Assessment Matrix (see below), we can see that the potential severity of both staying and evacuating via scuba to be "catastrophic," with the potential for death or permanent disability. But my assessment of the likelihood of this happening is higher for them staying than for evacuating via scuba. I would put the Probabilty of a catestrophic occurance happening as "Frequent" for staying, due to the possibility of more water in the cave, with loss of the little dry refuge that they currently have. I would put the possibility of a catastrophic occurrence at "Occasional" for the Likelihood in a scuba evacuation, as with some training, these kids are very adaptable and very much willing to do anything to get out. Because this is a "delayed emergency" the kids need to be kept where they are until some training has been conducted, they are medically able to get out (have the nutrition and other things looked after), and have the equipment needed to conduct this rescue.
Now, specifics about the scuba. Commercial diving full-face masks (FFMs) are probably not a good choice, as they most likely won't fit the kid's faces. A better choice would be a regular mask which fits, with a snorkel attachment. They need to be taught how to clear their ears! A single hose regulator with a submersible pressure gauge, but no other attachments, would be indicated so rescue divers could monitor their air supply as they surface in several pools.
I would highly recommend that a special harness be made for these kids out of nylon strap materials according to the drawing below for my Para-Sea Buoyancy Compensator (I patented it, and these drawings are from my patent--which nobody bought). Note the "Equipment Strap" in the front. This can be used to attach the kids to another rescue diver, face-to-face. If it were necessary to put one of the children through an opening without the diver, this is an attachment point for a line to the rescue diver(s). (Note, ignore the BC part of the Para-Sea concept, and simply put together the harness; it uses quick-release plastic attachments for the leg straps and shoulder area; a cross-chest strap is also needed as the BC is not there to hold the straps (it was stitched)). I am still diving my Para-Sea BC design, and had it in the water yesterday. Feel free to use these drawings in any way possible to help these kids. The patent is not now in force (timed out).
patents.google.com/patent/US4623316A/en?oq=US06511402
For the regulator second stage, I feel that a good quality neck strap, pulled tightly to the child's head, would be an advantage. If they wanted to snorkel in some of the pools, then the neck strap could be released quickly by the rescue diver after they surface in a pool.
As I said above, I applaud the rescue effort, and the decision to take these kids out via scuba. This information could be used to help justify this decision in the eyes of media and others.
______________________
John C. Ratliff is a 72 year-old diver who started diving in 1959, is still diving, a former U.S. Air Force Pararescueman (1967-1977); LA County County certified (1963); NAUI Instructor #2710 (1973); U.S. Navy School for Underwater Swimmers, 1967; and is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP, 1986 to present, now in "Retired" status); Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH, 2006-2018, Retired).
www.facebook.com/groups/1612046102342961/permalink/2102874329926800/
Now, kids have been diving at very young ages since the beginning of diving with the aqualung. Cousteau himself filmed this in the early 1950s, and published it in his book, "The Living Sea" (see the photo below, from third from the last photo page from that book). So kids can dive, even with limited scuba skills. Cousteau commented that the only problem he had with the kids was keeping the mouthpieces in their mouth when they wanted to talk to tell each other of things that they saw.
Last week, I made a dive at my High Rocks area, and ended it by surfacing in front of a Hispanic family I had helped earlier. I had found a dive mask while in the river scuba diving, and I gave it to the young child. The grandfather said the kid did not know how to swim, so I decided to give him an impromptu lesson on drown-proofing. It involved having him in chest-deep water in a cove in the river bank, having him take a deep breath, put his hands on his knees, then slide them down to his ankles. He of course started floating. He stood up, and I coached him to put his hands again on his ankles, and slide them up to his knees to stand up. The second try, he did that, and stood up easily. The third thing I had him do was to repeat the exercise, then extend his arms out in front of him, and his legs behind him. He did this, and then brought his hands to his ankles again and slid them up to his knees to stand up. I then had him repeat this about three times. Then, I told him to get into the layout position, bring his hands sharply down and lift his head above water to grab a breath, kick with his feet and put his head back into the water. This he did, and found that he could stay floating indefinitely using this technique. It's called "Drownproofing," and can be learned in about ten minutes. He was getting cold, so he got out, warmed up, then went back into the water with his mask (which he used in this exercise too), and began exploring the cove. He had no fear, and was simply enjoying the water.
Now, about the kids in Thailand. I have a lot of experience in the safety field, and a lot has been made about the hazards of bringing the kids out on scuba. But not much about the hazards of leaving them there indefinitely.
In the USAF, as a Pararescueman, we had what we called "Immediate Emergencies" and "Delayed Emergencies." An illustration of an immediate emergency was once when we had a helicopter engine failure while over the Columbia River--we were going down, now! We had to implement immediate emergency procudures, such as buckling into the seats and awaiting our pilot's autorotation manouver to get us safely down--he did, and luckily we landed in a pasture on the north shore of the Columbia River, rather than in the water. But that's an example of an immediate emergency.
The kids in Thailand are in a "delayed emergency." They are not in immediate danger, but they cannot stay where they are indefinitely. If we use the ANZI-Z10-2005 Risk Assessment Matrix (see below), we can see that the potential severity of both staying and evacuating via scuba to be "catastrophic," with the potential for death or permanent disability. But my assessment of the likelihood of this happening is higher for them staying than for evacuating via scuba. I would put the Probabilty of a catestrophic occurance happening as "Frequent" for staying, due to the possibility of more water in the cave, with loss of the little dry refuge that they currently have. I would put the possibility of a catastrophic occurrence at "Occasional" for the Likelihood in a scuba evacuation, as with some training, these kids are very adaptable and very much willing to do anything to get out. Because this is a "delayed emergency" the kids need to be kept where they are until some training has been conducted, they are medically able to get out (have the nutrition and other things looked after), and have the equipment needed to conduct this rescue.
Now, specifics about the scuba. Commercial diving full-face masks (FFMs) are probably not a good choice, as they most likely won't fit the kid's faces. A better choice would be a regular mask which fits, with a snorkel attachment. They need to be taught how to clear their ears! A single hose regulator with a submersible pressure gauge, but no other attachments, would be indicated so rescue divers could monitor their air supply as they surface in several pools.
I would highly recommend that a special harness be made for these kids out of nylon strap materials according to the drawing below for my Para-Sea Buoyancy Compensator (I patented it, and these drawings are from my patent--which nobody bought). Note the "Equipment Strap" in the front. This can be used to attach the kids to another rescue diver, face-to-face. If it were necessary to put one of the children through an opening without the diver, this is an attachment point for a line to the rescue diver(s). (Note, ignore the BC part of the Para-Sea concept, and simply put together the harness; it uses quick-release plastic attachments for the leg straps and shoulder area; a cross-chest strap is also needed as the BC is not there to hold the straps (it was stitched)). I am still diving my Para-Sea BC design, and had it in the water yesterday. Feel free to use these drawings in any way possible to help these kids. The patent is not now in force (timed out).
patents.google.com/patent/US4623316A/en?oq=US06511402
For the regulator second stage, I feel that a good quality neck strap, pulled tightly to the child's head, would be an advantage. If they wanted to snorkel in some of the pools, then the neck strap could be released quickly by the rescue diver after they surface in a pool.
As I said above, I applaud the rescue effort, and the decision to take these kids out via scuba. This information could be used to help justify this decision in the eyes of media and others.
______________________
John C. Ratliff is a 72 year-old diver who started diving in 1959, is still diving, a former U.S. Air Force Pararescueman (1967-1977); LA County County certified (1963); NAUI Instructor #2710 (1973); U.S. Navy School for Underwater Swimmers, 1967; and is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP, 1986 to present, now in "Retired" status); Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH, 2006-2018, Retired).
www.facebook.com/groups/1612046102342961/permalink/2102874329926800/
I am hoping to actually get this to the Thai SEAL Team, and others who are directly working on this rescue. So far, I have had 32 "Likes" and 7 shares (I shared it too on my own Facebook page, for 8 total shares). I included several photos, which are below. I'll keep you informed about whether this has had any effect at all, but from the comments there is a possibility of that happening.
John
This page out of "The Living Ses," by Jacques Cousteau and James Dugan, shows very young children diving SCUBA at depth (probably the Cousteau kids are there).
