Diver helmet hat light
- Safety Flash
- Published on 23 December 2011
- Generated on 4 April 2026
- IMCA SF 14/11
- 2 minute read
A Member has reported an incident in which an overheating diver helmet hat light nearly caused a fire inside a diving bell onboard a dive support vessel.
What happened?
The diving bell was not under pressure and the bottom doors were open to atmosphere. A report was made of a strong smell of smoke within the dive control area. This was investigated and smoke was observed coming from the forward diving bell, situated within the bell garage.
The dedicated emergency teams were mustered and the appropriate emergency response actions instigated.
The fire in the diving bell was successfully extinguished. There were no injuries. The fire resulted in extensive damage sustained to a Kirby Morgan 17B helmet, light, camera and associated umbilicals.
damaged Kirby Morgan 17B helmet
location of helmet light control switch
swipe for more
What were the causes?
Investigation established that the source of the fire was a dive helmet hat light which overheated to the point that the outer casing caught fire. The light overheated because it was inadvertently switched on whilst the equipment was on the surface and without any type of cooling in place, such as seawater.
The helmet light is operated via a surface mounted push button located in dive control forward of the dive control panel. Some twenty-five minutes before the incident occurred, the dive crew had held a short meeting in the immediate vicinity of the push button switch box that controls the helmet lights in the forward bell for both diver 1 and 2. It was surmised that during this meeting an attendee inadvertently leaned against the push button switch and turned on the helmet light. Nearly half an hour elapsed before the first smell of smoke was reported.
Lessons learnt
The lessons learnt were:
- There were no safeguards to prevent the activation of the push button controlling the helmet hat light. Temporary protection was put in place on the switch box, and the control boxes replaced with guarded switches to prevent inadvertent activation.
- The hat light would overheat without seawater cooling, and consequently should not be used for long periods in air. A new design for this model of light incorporates a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor device which prevents the unit from overheating.
IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of the entire offshore industry.
The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on the industry sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Incidents are classified according to IOGP's Life Saving Rules.
All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate, and warnings for graphic content included where possible.
IMCA makes every effort to ensure both the accuracy and reliability of the information shared, but is not be liable for any guidance and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained.
The information contained in this document does not fulfil or replace any individual's or Member's legal, regulatory or other duties or obligations in respect of their operations. Individuals and Members remain solely responsible for the safe, lawful and proper conduct of their operations.
Share your safety incidents with IMCA online. Sign-up to receive Safety Flashes straight to your email.