Episode 5: Public Safety Diving & the Underwater Jobs No One Sees | Walter Britton
In this episode of the Dive Long Island Podcast, I’m joined by Walter Britton, a PADI dive instructor, retired police officer, former public safety diver, and owner of W.E. Britton Marine Dive Services.
Walter shares how a childhood dive trip in the Bahamas led to a lifetime in the water, eventually becoming part of a police dive team where he responded to search, rescue, recovery, and evidence calls across Long Island.
We talk about what public safety diving really involves, from low visibility searches and vehicle recoveries to working alongside fire departments, police departments, Coast Guard assets, and other agencies during emergencies.
Walter also takes us into the world of underwater problem-solving: dock repairs, salvage work, propeller issues, moorings, side-scan searches, and the kind of odd underwater jobs most people never see.
This conversation is about grit, training, judgment, and what it takes to work safely in challenging Long Island conditions.
Topics include:
Public safety diving
Search and recovery operations
Zero-visibility diving
Vehicle and evidence recoveries
Underwater construction and salvage
Long Island wreck diving
Working in cold, low-vis Northeast waters
Problem-solving underwater
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Theme Song by Lauren Scanlon
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