Editorial: Utmost respect for rescue pilot

Hawke's Bay's now institutionalised rescue helicopter service has lost one of its forefathers.

Late last week the original Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter pilot, Paul Wolff, passed away aged 66. Mr Wolff was chief pilot when the service began in 1993, and spent eight years flying across the region rescuing everyday Hawke's Bay people in distress.

Close friend Mike Toogood told Hawke's Bay Today he would be remembered fondly by the Hawke's Bay community for his "pioneering skills, his flying skills and his compassion".

Mr Wolff and his service to this community demands our respect. Over the eight years he spent as chief pilot, he would have saved countless people's lives.

Considered to be something of a character and an exceptional talent within the industry, Mr Wolff was one of the many members of our rescue services who are often required to spend their days dealing with trauma, distress, despair, and sometimes, tragedy.

Only yesterday were police and St John ambulance services required to attend an incident where a woman suffered a cardiac arrest in Havelock North. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

As a journalist I've attended my fair share of such accidents, the first of which I'll never forget. Four men were killed almost instantly in a car crash late at night and my drive home, in the early hours that morning, was sombre to say the least as I reflected on what I had just witnessed.

To those who confront such scenes on a regular basis, I extend my admiration and gratitude.