The Big Lift: When the Sick and Injured are Too Fat for Paramedics, Who Do You Call?

When heavy-duty emergency response is needed, south suburban rescue squads frequently call on the men and women of the Orland Fire Protection District — because they’ve got the gear to lift the obese.

“I can tell you we have seen an increase in demand for this equipment over the last few years,” Lt. Mark Duke, emergency services administrator for the Orland fire district told Sun-Times Media columnist Donna Vickroy. “And we probably get a call from other towns once a month for the unit.”

About five years ago, the district bought a $10,000 winch-and-ramp system, with a wide cot, that can lift wide loads of 1,600 pounds. Rescue workers encounter sick and injured people weighing upwards of 400 pounds with greater frequency these days. Illinoisans, writes Vickroy, have gotten a lot heavier over the last decade. And the sick and fat exact a toll on paramedics and ambulance crews.

» Want to know more? Read Donna Vickroy’s feature on how obese patients challenge EMS crews