Use of MedEvac draws state police reprimand

[Guest guest]

By McCord

Sun Staff

Originally published March 28, 2001

State police Superintendent B. sharply reprimanded

yesterday the bureau chief who authorized the use of a MedEvac helicopter

Monday to fly a state senator to his burning home in Garrett County.

The decision by Lt. Col. W. Czorapinski, chief of the state police

support service bureau, which oversees its aviation division, was

" inappropriate, " said.

" I applaud his effort to help someone in their time of need, but I took

him to the woodshed on this, " said. " There are other ways to

help. "

said the senator's use of the helicopter did not affect

emergency medical transportation.

Czorapinski said he thought authorizing the flight was " the right thing

to do, " adding, " In retrospect, it might not have been, but I made the

decision, and I thought it was right. "

Sen. J. Hafer, a Republican who has represented Garrett and Allegany

counties since 1991, was in polis about 4 p.m. Monday when he learned

that a 2 1/2 -story farmhouse that has been in his family for generations

was " engulfed in flames, " Czorapinski said.

Beth Pirolozzi, Hafer's district administrator, said she asked a

trooper on the State House security detail for help to get the senator

home, and the trooper apparently called Czorapinski.

" A call was made to my office, and after listening to the circumstances,

I authorized the flight for him, " Czorapinski said. " He's in polis,

serving the citizens of land, and his house is on fire. How often

does that happen? "

Hafer and his wife, Lorene, who had been in polis with him, arrived

at Cumberland Airport about 6:30 p.m.

Fire officials said the blaze started in a wall of a second-floor office

and caused about $400,000 in damage to the house and its contents, which

included family heirlooms and Mrs. Hafer's paintings.

Pirolozzi said firefighters salvaged furniture and some of Mrs. Hafer's

landscape paintings from the first floor, but everything on the second

floor was destroyed.

Hafer remained in Garrett County yesterday, and it was unclear when he

would return to polis. He could not be reached.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.fire28mar28.story

Use of MedEvac draws state police reprimand

Bureau chief OK'd flying senator to burning home

land State Police have 12 Dauphine helicopters at eight bases from

Salisbury to Cumberland. Ordinarily, they are used to rush accident

victims to hospitals as well as for search-and-rescue missions and law

enforcement.

Rarely are they used as personnel transports, said. " These are

precious resources, and we recognize that, " he said.

The one-hour round trip to Cumberland probably cost about $600 in fuel,

Czorapinski estimated.

Pirolozzi said Hafer asked her yesterday, after the question was raised

on a Frostburg radio station, to check on the cost of the flight, but

they had not decided whether he would pay for it.

" He's suffered a tremendous loss, and it's sad that the only thing

anybody cares about is the flight, " she said.

Copyright © 2001, The Baltimore Sun

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