MEMBERS of the Baling Fire and Rescue Station were called upon in the early hours of the morning to assist in transferring a 34-year-old woman, weighing nearly 300 kilograms, from her home on Jalan Kuala Merah, Kuala Ketil, to Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim in Sungai Petani due to severe health complications.
Chief of the Baling Fire and Rescue Station, Zullhairi Mat Tanjil, said the special assistance request was received at 12.45am.
“We utilised a three-tonne fire truck to transport the patient as the size and weight of the woman rendered a standard Ministry of Health ambulance unsuitable,” he explained.
The woman was suffering from breathing difficulties and other medical complications, necessitating urgent transfer.
“Firefighters used blankets to lift the patient onto a stretcher before employing the truck’s hydraulic equipment to move her safely to the hospital, accompanied by two healthcare personnel and a family member inside the vehicle,” Zullhairi added.
The operation concluded at 2.55am after the patient was successfully handed over to the hospital’s emergency unit for further medical attention.
Zullhairi noted that this was the second special assistance case involving a severely obese individual within eight days, following a similar operation on 10 December in Tawar, Kuala Ketil, where firefighters helped with the handling of a deceased patient. - December 18, 2025
