New York Firefighters Spend Six Hours Moving 700-Pound Man From Sixth-Floor Apartment

New York firefighters spent six hours removing a 700-pound man from his sixth-story apartment. The department used a rope-and-pulley system to hoist the sick man from his apartment down the stairwell.

The Daily Mail reports that the firefighters initially attempted to remove the man from the sixth-story apartment window. However, they determined that the maneuver would be too risky given the man’s size. Therefore, the fire department devised a plan to lift the man with a rope-and-pulley system and hoist him down through the stairwell.

“Due to the size of the patient, it would have been dangerous. We determined that the only way we were going to remove this patient would be to hook up a pulley system and a rope system, and actually raise him off the ground, and then lower him down the stairwell.”

The whole rescue proved difficult, and took the department six hours to complete from start to finish. Neighbors indicate that this is not the first time that the firefighters have had to remove the man from the apartment. One neighbor claims that this is the second time in recent months they have had to help the man who cannot walk due to his size and leg issues. One of the 700-pound man’s friends say that the whole ordeal has been difficult for the friend who has always struggled with weight.

“The weight has always been an issue, so this has been really difficult.”

According to the Huffington Post, the man called for help after he began experiencing difficulty breathing. It was noted that once the man was moved out of the building, it took 10 firemen to hoist him into the ambulance, which took the man to Luke’s Hospital for treatment.

FDNY Battalion 16 Chief Tom Fitzgerald told CNN that the man was monitored during the entire rescue effort and was in “a little discomfort” and, as expected, a “little stressed out.” However, Fitzgerald notes that upon being placed in the ambulance the man appeared stable.

“He was a little stressed out, and he was in a little discomfort. But he was in stable condition the whole time. He was monitored the entire time.”

Similarly, as the Inquisitr previously reported, a 440-pound man’s body was turned away from a morgue due to his size, which the morgue called “too fat”.

With the 700-pound man’s medical state, do you think the man should find an apartment on the first floor so that fire department efforts would be easier should a rescue effort be needed?

[Image Credit: Getty Images]