Firemen wear masks to rescue man who had not washed in five years

Firefighters had to put on gas masks and protective clothing to rescue an obese man who had not washed for five years, The Mirror reports.

A woman called police after hearing tapping on her ceiling _ the man’s signal that he needed help.

When firefighters arrived in full biohazard suits, neighbors thought their block of flats in Nurtigen, near Stuttgart, Germany, was under a major chemical attack.

In fact, the firemen were wearing the protective clothing to protect them from the man’s odor. One firefighter who broke into the apartment said the smell was “absolute hell” and “indescribable.”

A crane lowered the man, 65, to an ambulance because he was too large to get through the door.

He told firemen he had been living on takeaway meals and had not been able to wash for five years.