By Josh Mitchell
Baltimore Sun
Copyright 2008 Baltimore Sun
QUEEN ANNE COUNTY, Md. — A Queen Anne’s County man has been charged with impersonating a firefighter in two incidents in which he is accused of administering medical care to an injured woman and taking pictures at the scene of a house fire, fire officials said.
Christopher Morgan Hatch, 30, of Stevensville is also charged with reckless endangerment, a deputy state fire marshal said yesterday. It is the third time he has been charged with impersonating a firefighter or police officer, court records show. In the two previous incidents, the impersonation charges were dropped, court records show.
The state fire marshal’s office began investigating Hatch in September after he showed up at a house fire in firefighter gear, said Joseph G. Zurolo Jr., a deputy state fire marshal. Authorities at the scene recognized Hatch from previous incidents, Zurolo said.
Hatch, dressed in gear that included a badge, a helmet and a shield emblazoned with “Fire Photographer,” identified himself to residents as a firefighter who was there to conduct an investigation, and took pictures of the house, Zurolo said.
“When he gets dressed up, he looks like the real McCoy,” Zurolo said.
Zurolo said he did not know how Hatch obtained the gear, but he added, “You can buy a lot of this stuff right off eBay.”
Hatch is also accused of showing up at the scene of a car crash on the Bay Bridge in December. Again dressed in firefighter gear, Hatch tended to an injured woman, making sure she kept her head straight as paramedics examined her, Zurolo said.
Hatch has no medical training and no ties to any fire department, Zurolo said. Investigators believe that he might have been a police cadet for a local department who for unknown reasons was removed during police training, Zurolo said.
On Friday, investigators searched Hatch’s home in the 500 block of Buckingham Drive and found “numerous pieces of evidence” in his home and vehicle, Zurolo said.
Hatch was served a criminal summons Friday, and a hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 28. Attempts to reach Hatch yesterday were unsuccessful.
If convicted, Hatch could face up to 17 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.