Fire service experts are having to attend more and more emergency cases in which people with chronic obesity cannot move for themselvesThe number of obese people needing to be moved by firefighters from their homes has increased by more than a third in the last three years, new figures show. Rescuers are using lifting equipment and specialised slings to help to move overweight people at a steadily growing rate, often being forced to remove windows, walls and bannisters. There were 944 incidents in which people needed help in 2015-16, almost three every day, against 709 in 2012-13, figures from all 50 fire and rescue crews in the UK show. Examples of cases include helping the ambulance service with lifting equipment to…

Source: The Times September 19, 2016 10:52 UTC