I'll never forget when I worked with the ambulance service in a small town, we got a call. Took us forever to find the house down a long narrow country road. Old small two story house, one of those steep narrow stairways. We found a old lady in her bed dead. I bet she had a pile of crap stacked a foot high underneath her. She had been dead for a few days, hard as a brick.

After pronounced dead, we had to get her down. We had to basically break her back to fold her, but doubt she weighed 100lbs. As I started down the stairs her mouth opened. I actually dropped her. I can't describe the smell. I vomitted, I can still smell it over 20 years later.

Worse....was always dead children.....

I noticed the past tense. After an experience like that, it is no wonder.
I can't imagine some of the sights that paramedics see and how they block them out. Seeing things like that, I would think you have to block them out somehow or you'd go nuts.

I'm a aircraft mecanic for a charter/air ambulance company. I've helped off-load patients from our medical planes occasionally(it is something I try to avoid if at all possible). The children are the worst, especially the infants.

I've heard many stories of pilots working for small freight companies flying deceased people, alone,.....at night. Then the gases start escaping the body and it starts groaning. :o

Back when I did it, town was so small we were basically paid volunteers, got paid $10 per time we went out. After two years of training while working this way as a EMT, finally completed my paramedic training.

You do see a lot of gore, suicides, wrecks, ect. Somehow in jest you learn to ignore it, sometimes you couldn't, but pretended you did in front of others. Today they offer a lot more training and support on the emotional side. Inside you know your helping others, so that gets you through it.

After that I worked with a friend part time in his business cleaning up remains after death...gathering body parts, gore, bleaching blood, ect...That was good money part time, but you were like a fireman, on call at a minutes notice.

He has a large business today over 20 years later, branched out in several states, one thing about death, business is always booming, he's now a millionaire. Probably one of the first to do it professionally.

That is a job I'll pass on. I guess you just have to have a knack for it or something.

After the accident with the body on the highway, the underside of the car was quite a mess. We got it back from the impound lot the same way. I tried washing it but I underestimated the extent of the mess. I called the police department and they put me in touch with a crime scene cleaner who came out, took the car for a couple of hours to clean it.

I asked him how he got into the job. He just said he found it interesting and had a knack for it. Did a lot of training and has a bunch of equipment. He not only does the bloody, gory stuff, but he also is contracted with the police dept. to clean up meth labs as well.

I'm not suprised your friend is a millionaire-this guy charged me $300 for about two hours of work which I was glad to pay.

He did a good job, but told me he wasn't sure he got everything. The underside was pretty coated and there are a lot of nooks and crannies.

He didn't get everything.....
Long story short-the insurance company ended up totaling the vehicle due to the odor.

Sorry to hear about these stories - it is always tragic.

I had a similar one myself. A couple of years ago a guy who was 2 years younger than me, and back in high school used to help organize LAN parties with me, died in a car crash. More accurately, he crashed his car while driving on a country road at night and was trapped alone in the car, which caught fire. When the car was found and the emergency services got there, presumably a few hours later, there wasn't much left of him :(

Really left that same sort of disturbing impression with me that some others of you have described. Way, way before his time.