CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that a Chicago Fire Department diver who drowned in 2018 might have survived with the use of technology.
Juan Bucio was diving in near zero visibility, searching for a boater who had fallen into the Chicago River.
His air ran out and he failed to switch to a back-up. He had lost contact with his partner and there was confusion. He had gone under with a weight belt and no air to fill a vest and maintain buoyancy.
The report stated, “An audible alarm may have helped the diver know his air pressure without having to read a gauge in near-zero visibility water using a flashlight. It is unclear if the diver was able to read the gauge correctly in the zero-visibility water.”
According to the report, the Chicago Fire Department does not use dive computers.
In addition to lack of air, the Cook County Medical Examiner found that a key factor in Bucio's death was a rare heart condition that can commonly go unnoticed.
The NIOSH report also stated that communication between fire and police marine units at the scene was lacking, and could have benefited from costly, but effective military-grade equipment, the Sun-Times reported.
“At the incident scene, the communication between the fire and police marine units took place by either face-to-face communications or a patch-through dispatch. No interoperability occurred with the radios at the incident scene. This impacts real-time communications and the command structure,” the report stated.
“Better communications are needed between the fire and police marine units. They need to ensure they have the proper equipment (radios, etc.) and a better real-time understanding of the plan and operational situation."
The report went on to state, “during the interview process, several interviewees had mentioned that the wireless communications equipment used by Fire and Police Marine Units was subpar. The communications between divers and the boats were unreliable."
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