A paramedic who stayed on the job saw many victims who had died before the thinned ranks of first responders could reach them. Also, an important piece of equipment used to monitor vital signs was taken out of his ambulance because, the Fire Department told him, striking firefighters might damage it. “So I called up and told my captain I was walking out” and joining the strike, the paramedic informed a Tribune reporter. “I was tired of pulling sheets over bodies.”