Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States. Ref: http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html
Mission Statement: Bruce’s Legacy is a 501(c)(3) volunteer organization providing emergency assistance, education, public safety awareness and search and recover
y operations for drowned victims to provide resolution for families. Our organization is driven from a deep seated belief that all families should be allowed closure in the death of a loved one as much as possible. This experience of losing a loved one from a tragic drowning accident comes from very direct personal experiences. First of all, our organization exists to provide resolution to families, who have lost a loved one due to a drowning accident or water . People of differing cultures, religions etc. have varying ways of mourning and showing respect for the deceased but all have one thing in common; having the body present at some point of their ritual or process of disposition. If a victim drowns but is never located, it’s much more difficult and painful for that family to say goodbye and move forward in the healing process. Secondly we provide education to the community, law enforcement, fire departments and government agencies in the rescue and recovery of victims, crime scene evidence and/or obstructions in waterways. Our third aspect is reaching out to the people with disabilities that can medically participate in scuba diving activities. Scuba diving is a known form of rehabilitation for someone that is confined to a wheelchair or unable to move bodyparts. Being underwater allows them more movement and gives them a sense of being more equal. The manner in which our organization plans to offer its service is by means of a Side-Scan Sonar. There is a 4 foot long device that looks similar to a ‘torpedo’ attached to a cable, which is then towed by a boat. This ‘torpedo’ is called a Tow Fish and it emits pulses of sonar thru the water which is received by a transponder and computer on the boat. The special software interprets those pulses into data displayed as images of the bottom on the computer screen. By using sonar, you can cover wide stretches in the water looking at a computer screen, rather than sending divers down and putting them in danger. The sonar allows us to be safer, more efficient and it allows us to minimize the time we actually put divers in the water. There are not many organizations actively operating in the manner to which we will do specifically. In fact the other organizations or individuals that do have similar experience or equipment, all communicate openly. Everyone shares experiences, contacts etc. to facilitate the most effective and safe operations possible. One of the benefits we acquire from technology is the opportunity to conduct safer operations than those of previous years. The sonar technology we are incorporating does just that; reduces the amount of man-hours and workforce typically needed, thus reducing liability and the chance for un-wanted accidents. It is common to have dive teams that can often locate drowned victims or targets of interest. In many instances, smaller counties with limited funding do not have dive teams. That is when we can offer our many years of Rescue Diving experience, to then dive and recover a victim if need be. However our systematic approach aims to assists those dive teams and makes their efforts less risky, less time consuming, less costly and more efficient in search and recovery operations. This is a non-profit, all volunteer organization, which relies on donations from businesses and individuals. The organization has no intention to mandate exorbitant fees as our services are provided free of charge. The organization only asks for traveling expenses to be covered. Typical expected costs would be gas, food, lodging and a per mile expense while traveling more than 50 miles from our home location. Donations and funding will help cover the cost of leases, insurance and vehicle maintenance. We hope you never need our services but for those that do, we ask you to help with a donation to keep us moving forward and assisting those families in need. Look at our website www.bruceslegacy.com for more information and give a donation of your choice. Every bit will afford another family the chance to bring closure.
