Friday, November 10, 2006

HEAVY'-DUTY RESCUE

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The City Council has revived a proposal to buy special "jumbo" ambulances for the morbidly obese, officials told The Post.

The idea for the ambulances - which can easily transport people over 500 pounds - has languished in the council for years, but now lawmakers plan to hold a hearing on the issue on Tuesday.

It was spurred by the plight of labor leader, 420-pound Mark Rosenthal, who suffered a stroke in 2003.

The District Council 37 representative was forced to lie strapped on an ambulance floor, because the stretcher couldn't fit him.

"We have to ensure that no one has to ride on the floor of an ambulance again; we would not stand for it for any protected group," said Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens), the bill's sponsor.

"I'm insisting that the city has one so if there is a call we know that we can save someone's life. We read of these cases where we have to cut a wall to save someone's life then we don't have a way to transport them."

Miguel Martinez, chairman of the council's Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, added that the council wants to ensure the Fire Department is equipped for every New Yorker, morbidly obese or not.

"We've seen pictures of cranes used to lift people," Martinez (D-Manhattan) said. "And in this city we should be able to transport these citizens."

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