Aquatic Rescue and Safety

Dennis Graver has worked in aquatics for more than 25 years as a water rescue and scuba diving instructor. He is an emergency medical technician (EMT) and a senior EMS instructor, and he has current instructor training ratings for first aid, oxygen first aid, and scuba. He is a member of the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI), the Handicapped Scuba Association, the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences, the Diver's Alert Network, and the Underwater Society of America. He is an active volunteer firefighter and EMT, district medical officer, and district CPR training coordinator for his local fire district. Graver has authored 30 books and manuals including Scuba Diving and Scuba Diving First Aid. He has also contributed hundreds of articles to such magazines as Skin Diver, Sources, and Undercurrents as well as several NAUI technical publications. He has won numerous awards including the Underwater Society of America Sports Education award, Outstanding EMS Instructor award, and NAUI Outstanding Contribution to Diving award. He has been an underwater photographer since 1970 and has been repeatedly recognized by the Underwater Photographic Society, and his photos have graced the covers of many magazines and illustrated several diving texts and audiovisual educational programs. Graver has greatly influenced scuba diving with his development of a dive table multilevel diving technique for recreational diving and a breathing mask technique for diving rescue. He also has designed the NAUI Dive Time Calculator and the first PADI dive tables. Graver is currently a member of the Undersea Medical Society, NAUI, the Handicapped Scuba Association, and the Divers Alert Network. Dennis and his wife, Barbara, reside in Camano Island, Washington.

Part I Introduction to aquatic rescue and safety: drowning; recognition and response. Part II Physiological considerations: water and body temperature considerations; heart, lung, and head injuries; spinal cord injuries. Part III Water sports: swimming injuries; Scuba diving injuries; watercraft-related submersion injuries. Part IV Emergency procedures: first aid; evacuations; emergency action plans; legal concerns. Appendices: training organizations; recommended first aid equipment; aquatic hazard analysis; emergency action plan.