Interview with a Volunteer Scuba Rescue Diver

The Pittsburgh area's three rivers and many lakes are renown for their aesthetic, recreational and economic value, but when they occasionally become a scene of tragedy, volunteer scuba divers like Steve Halle are ready to rescue.

For Halle, a resident of the city's Park Place neighborhood, a long history of volunteering to serve public safety preceded his underwater rescue diving. He spoke about his background and experience in a recent interview:

Q: You began as a volunteer fireman?
A: I started as a junior firefighter at the suburban Bower Hill VFD in the South Hills at the age of 14. At that age, you are limited by law in what you are permitted to do. At age 16 a person can go to the community college for the EMT program, which is a 120 hour class. Once finished with that program you take a state test to show competency with practical skills and pass a written test. At 18 you can begin to enter buildings, take classes at the fire academy and drill at your local department. I have now been a volunteer for 32 years.

Q: While the City of Pittsburgh has full time professional firefighters and river rescue staff, most of the municipalities surrounding the city utilize volunteers. You are a volunteer fireman just across the city line close to your home?
A: I am. I'm presently the president and Assistant Fire Chief of the Edgewood Fire Department.

Q: And you are also an experienced EMT?
A: Yes, I started when I was a firefighter in the South Hills. At first we didn't get paid in our EMT capacity through the fire department, but we eventually developed a paid service. I currently still work one or two shifts a month on weekends for Eastern Area EMT which covers several eastern suburbs.

Q: All of this experience grew into the desire to become a rescue diver?
A: Since I was already certified as a diver, I figured I would take as many classes as I could to move on. You have to take many classes before you're able to take the rescue class through PADI, which is one of the certification agencies for diving. All the classes have written and practical exams and cover proficiency in night diving, underwater navigation, deep diving, and first aid.

Q: You did some of your scuba dive training in Pittsburgh?
A: Pittsburgh Scuba offered an intense three day class in dive rescue. It was supposed to be 24 hours but ended up as 36 hours. We were taught how to manage a scene and perform "dope on a rope" techniques. This is where you are in the water, attached to a rope, and the person on the shore or boat pulls on the rope for you to change your direction underwater to perform search patterns.

Q: Was all of your rescue dive training done in Pittsburgh?
A: No, I took a professional class from Dive Rescue International in Colorado, and some of the practical exams were taken in Florida and the Bahamas. I went to Florida for my initial open water dives and in the Bahamas I completed much of my other practical work. There's something about being in the warm waters verses the cold Pennsylvania water.

Q: How do you deal with the cold waters of the local rivers?
A: I have not been in the local rivers for diving, but I trained in quarries and reservoirs. We use a 7mm wet suit or dry suits to stay warm, and we must be covered by gloves, hoods and masks. You usually can't see in these waters and depend highly on touch and feel and the people above you. Visibility can be just inches from your mask. The waters are very murky and unsafe. You don't know what may be in front of you.

Q: Tell us about your experience with the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium sharks?
A: I volunteer as a scuba diver at the zoo shark tank a few times a month. It's a way I get to dive and have fun doing it. We maintain the tank from the inside and, yes, the sharks are still in the tanks. I think that's the best part, especially when the sharks are only a few feet from us. We are on display to the public while in the tanks.

Q: What kind of sharks are in the tank?
A: Sand tigers, bonnet heads, leopard and black tip sharks.

Q: Any other requirements to be a rescue diver?
A: Only the willingness to volunteer your time and an commit yourself to helping others.

Q: Have you done an actual search for a body as yet?
A: Not yet. Hopefully, I will never be called to do that.