Save a Diver, Save Yourself

By Vincent Corigliano

Q1 2021

Divers can’t save themselves unless they understand what’s happening and how to evaluate the problem, keep breathing and act. It sounds simple, but the rescue diver course helped me solidify my safety and survival skills. I may not remember every detail, but one item still stands out for me as invaluable for a new diver: Any dive can be stopped at any time, for any reason, without question. To that I would add “and without embarrassment.” That advice would eventually save me.

Program Spotlight: Prepared Diver Course Makes Divers Safer

Q3/Q4 2020

Continuation of dive training and education beyond the open-water course is beneficial, and to make it easier DAN offers the Prepared Diver course to everyone at no cost. This video-based course is for all divers regardless of training level. By building on practices you’ve already learned, Prepared Diver can help you become a better, safer diver. Most important, this course focuses on mitigation and avoidance of the most common triggers of dive accidents and incidents.

The Importance of a Predive Safety Check

By Chloe Strauss

Q3/Q4 2020

Certified divers learned to do predive safety checks during training, but do they perform one every time they dive? It is one of the easiest ways to prevent oversights, gear malfunctions and forgotten pieces of equipment. But predive safety checks often aren’t as thorough as they should be. Complacency and skipping your predive safety check or buddy check are entirely preventable factors in dive accidents. Complete all your checks before every dive.

Avoiding Panic After Regulator Failure

By Nick Uresin

Q2 2020

Are you prepared to handle a faulty regulator? Here is how one person handled this hazardous situation and DAN’s response to the handling.

Prescription Dive Masks

By Joshua Nowitz

Q2 2020

There are many options currently available for divers who need corrective eyewear. With the right mask or lens, divers are better able to enjoy the underwater sights.

Dive Boat Fire Safety

By Guy Thomas, DMT, and Francois Burman, Pr.Eng., M.Sc.

Q2 2019

Don’t wait until disaster and tragedy strikes to consider dive boat fire safety. Just before your vessel takes off, enact certain protocols to ensure everyone’s safety.

Carbon Dioxide Safety

By Francois Burman, Pr.Eng., M.Sc.

Q2 2020

There are many standards and guidelines for safe limits, including the results of various occupational health and safety studies on the effects of extended exposure. For diving, the situation is different. So what are safe limits for recreational diving with much shorter exposures than navy divers? Particularly, what is a safe limit for carbon dioxide (CO2), the most abundant potential contaminant?

Hose Failure

By Francois Burman, Pr.Eng., M.Sc.

Q2 2020

Some first-stage scuba regulators have a shared low-pressure hub. Purging the second-stage regulator to release pressure from all hoses before disassembling gear causes gas in the other hoses to move backward toward the first stage. The gas could carry debris from the other low-pressure hoses and possibly through the first-stage regulator into the hose being used to vent the system. Performing regular maintenance, checking your hoses and noting any difficulty in breathing or inflation during your predive check should prevent hose degeneration from causing an underwater incident.

Reduce Your Liability Risk

By Francois Burman, Pr.Eng., M.Sc.

Q1 2020

Diving is risky for all involved parties, but there are precautions dive professionals can take to reduce liability risks. Prevention reduces risks but understanding the risks reduces legal consequences.