LACONIA, N.H. (AP) -- A long-awaited Marine Patrol report on a skilled firefighter-diver who drowned earlier this year in Lake Winnipesaukee gives little insight into what happened, city fire officials said.
``Its pretty inconclusive. ... Weve waited five months and it really didnt shed any new light on what happened,'' Laconia Fire Chief Ken Erickson said about Mark Miller. The patrol released the report to the fire department on Friday.
Miller died on March 11 during a routine training exercise in the icy lake. Miller and another diver were trying out new diving suits.
Medical examiner determinations found no extenuating circumstances in the drowning. Erickson said the new report does little to indicate what procedural or equipment problems could have contributed to the tragedy.
``Mark was a 43-year-old man who was in excellent physical condition and we still don't know why he drowned,'' he said. ``They were unable to come up with a conclusion. All it did, in my mind, was identify new questions.'' .
An autopsy and toxicology tests showed neither a medical condition nor substance caused Millers death.
Erickson said the report does bring up ``concerns'' about the neck-size of the ``dry-suit'' being worn by Miller during the time of his death. Erickson said the inquiry raises concerns that the neck could have been too tight. Other questions were raised about the position of valves on the suits, according to the chief.
However, Erickson said Miller had worn the suit eight times before the drowning and for periods of up to close to an hour.
The suit Miller wore could be sent to the U.S. Navy dive-team as part of a secondary investigation of what possible equipment failures could have led to his death, Erickson said.
Representatives from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health visited last week as part of their investigation, he said.
The agency works under the federal Department of Health and Human Service's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency studies work-related illnesses and injuries, including those suffered by emergency workers.
Erickson said one thing that didnt surprise him about the report is that it identified no procedural wrongdoing by Miller. Some have speculated, though, that Miller would be alive if he had been tethered to his partner, as is standard procedure in dives going under ice.
However, Erickson said Miller and his partner were in open water off the docks when the incident occurred.
``There was no intention of going under the ice ... unfortunately that is something we will never get an answer on,'' Erickson said.
Information from: The Citizen
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