Rescuers Extricate 600-Pound Man by Cutting Hole in Wall

Firefighters cut an 8-square-foot hole in the bedroom wall of a North Hollywood apartment Thursday morning to rescue a former Los Angeles radio personality, thought to weigh more than 600 pounds, who was having trouble breathing.

Responding to a 911 call about 7 a.m. from the victim, 30 firefighters from the department’s heavy rescue team worked for two hours to extricate John Swaney, 57, from his apartment.

Firefighters also removed patio railings and sliding glass doors to reach him. Swaney was rolled out on 3-inch-thick sheets of plywood placed on steel pipes, fire Capt. Daniel McCarty said. Amid a frenzy of TV cameras and photographers, about 10 firefighters brought Swaney out on the makeshift wooden stretcher.

“He’s very private. I’m sure he’s annoyed by all this to-do,” said a woman who lives in the building.

Firefighters placed Swaney on a forklift, which took him to an ambulance designed for heavy patients.

Swaney, a former lawyer and a former host of talk shows on KFWB, KGIL and KFI radio stations, was first transported to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. A doctor there examined him in the ambulance and then sent Swaney to County-USC Medical Center, said fire spokesman Brian Humphrey.

Swaney, who was listed in serious but stable condition Thursday night, was being treated for respiratory problems related to his size, a hospital spokeswoman said. Two metal beds were put together to accommodate him, she said.

According to apartment residents, Swaney has lived for more than a decade in the two-story building in the 11200 block of Morrison Street, where he operated a legal services business. He has long been extremely obese, neighbors said, and has not driven his car in years.

A housekeeper brought him food and did his shopping, said neighbor Susanna Foster, 74. An agency that brings meals to the homebound also delivered food, said a gardener at the building, who declined to give his name.

About a month ago, firefighters helped Swaney’s friends move him to a new bed in his three-bedroom apartment, McCarty said. Since then, the Fire Department had prepared a plan to get him out in an emergency.

The gardener said that when Swaney was able to walk, he used the glass sliding doors to go outside and sit in the fresh air.

Other neighbors said they had not seen Swaney out of his apartment for a while.

“I don’t think he moved very much,” said one woman who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He hasn’t been out of his apartment in a long time.”

Swaney had a long career in radio, working from 1968 to 1978 at KFWB. He also was on the air at KGIL from 1986 to 1993. A graduate of Loyola University Law School, he practiced law from 1978 to 1986, said Crys Quimby, news director at KFWB.

“He’s literate, a very fine gentleman,” said Foster, his neighbor. “He has a graceful, resonant voice.”

In a written statement, Quimby described Swaney as “one of the brightest news voices ever to hit the airwaves” and as “a pioneer of the all-news format.”

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Times staff writer Joseph Trevino contributed to this story.