Crews rescue obese man from Warwick home

Dozens of emergency responders rescued an obese, bedridden man from his Warwick home Monday afternoon. Fire officials say the man weighs in excess of 500 pounds and has medical issues. The fire department

News 12 Staff

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Oct 20, 2015, 2:48 AM

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Updated 3,355 days ago

Dozens of emergency responders rescued an obese, bedridden man from his Warwick home Monday afternoon.

Fire officials say the man weighs in excess of 500 pounds and has medical issues. The fire department was called for assistance after EMS workers could not move the man out of the second floor of his home.

"His doctor called and said he had to come to the hospital, but he's been bedridden for a couple of years," says Warwick Assistant Fire Chief John Batz.

Officials say the tech rescue team was on standby, and at one point considered taking the patient out of a second-floor window.

Neighbor Bobby Vance says he used to see the man, who he only knows as Joe, walking around the neighborhood until he retired from his job as a sanitation worker a few years ago.

Fire officials say they believe the man was going to the hospital for a checkup.