Indiana Conservation Officer Public Safety Scuba Team Receives New Life Saving Equipment

DNR News Division of Law Enforcement Indiana Department of Natural Resources 402 W. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN 46204-2748 For immediate release: May 3, 2016 Indiana Conservation Officer Public Safety Scuba Team receives new life saving equipment Indiana Conservation Officers Public Safety Scuba Team has recently acquired a new piece of life saving equipment designed to minimize the effects of an out of air underwater emergency. This piece of dive gear is referred to a “Bailout Block.” A bailout block is designed to allow a diver to draw air from his/her alternate air source with the turn of a knob in the event their main tank goes empty or is somehow compromised.

The previous method to access air from the diver’s alternate air source was to remove the divers mask and use a traditional scuba regulator through a mouth piece, such that is used in recreational scuba. The bailout block keeps our divers safe in two ways; 1) Prevents the diver from removing their full face mask in a cold-water environment which could lead to a number of hazardous consequences, including cold-water shock or hyperventilation. 2) Prevents the loss of communication with the surface tender and backup diver via a hardline communication rope system. In an underwater entanglement scenario the loss of communication could result in a lethal situation for the primary diver. Bailout blocks have been utilized in the commercial diving industry for some time; however they are relatively new to the public safety diving channels. -30- Media contact: Max Winchell, DNR Law Enforcement, (812) 243-6616