Palatine rescue divers getting new system with unlimited air supply

Palatine Fire Department rescue divers will join their peers in neighboring towns by receiving a new air-supply system expected to improve their safety in the water.

Village council members this week authorized spending up to $45,000 in the current budget on the air-supply system that'll eliminate the need for the divers to wear heavy tanks on their backs to breathe underwater. With the new system from Interspiro Inc., air will be drawn from shore and flow into a line connected to a diver's much smaller, lighter tank.

Fire Chief Scott Andersen said scuba-style tanks worn by Palatine's water rescue teams are more for recreational use and have a limited air supply. He said the unlimited air supply with the new system is specifically designed for professional underwater rescues and will improve diver safety.

"Typically, a diver will be underwater anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes working," Andersen told the village council. "Where this comes into being very important is if they ever get tangled up for whatever reason, then they would have an unlimited amount of air while they're underwater until we make the rescue of the rescuer."

Andersen said divers from other suburbs in a regional response team with Palatine already have the systems. That division of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System includes Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Streamwood and Wheeling.

Up to six Palatine divers will be accommodated with the new air supply. The divers have masks that are compatible with the surface-supplied air system, officials said.