We are with the Government, and we're here to help! Really. Seriously, we are....

900-pound man removed from home

900-pound man removed from home - U.S. News - MSNBC.com
One of those calls where a little compassion-and creative rescue skills- comes in handy! (But did they have to cover his face?)

LANSING, Mich. - Firefighters cut a hole in the side of a house and used a forklift to extricate a 900-pound man from his second-floor bedroom after a visiting nurse became worried about his health.

Rescue workers were called in Tuesday by the nurse, who determined the 33-year-old man needed medical help, Fire Chief Tom Cochran said.

Cochran said the man had not left his home since 2003.

The man’s brother, who lives with him, said he suffers from Prader-Willi Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that creates a chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to overeating and life-threatening obesity.

Rescue workers brought in a forklift, high enough to raise a platform to a hole cut into the wall of the house. They covered the man with a blue tarp to shield him from onlookers and slid the platform onto a flatbed truck for a trip to Sparrow Hospital.

Another reason to plan your escape!

Next Up for Lost Whales: Fire Hoses

ABC News: Next Up for Lost Whales: Fire Hoses
Another use for fire hose....

Rescuers Plan to Use Fire Hoses to Coax 2 Wayward Whales Back to Pacific
Marine biologists said Thursday that they planned to spray fire hoses in a river near two lost, injured whales in the next attempt to coax the pair back toward salt water.

The method has never been tried before, and biologists don't know how the whales will respond Friday. If the whales like the spray, crews will try to lure them back to the ocean; if they hate it, they'll try to force them there.

Biologists planned to spray near the whales both above water and underwater from the deck of a boat on the Sacramento River. The approach comes after attempts to lead them back to sea using the sounds of clanging pipes, feeding humpbacks and killer orcas failed.

The mother whale and her calf were last spotted about 70 miles from the ocean, in an area of the Sacramento River where they have been circling for several days, said Carrie Wilson, a biologist with the state Department of Fish and Game.