Grand Blanc Township, Michigan (CNN) — Eva Kerzka just wanted to help.

For going on five weeks, she and about 700 other nurses employed by the Henry Ford Genesys Hospital had been on strike amid negotiations on a new labor contract. Rather than take care of patients in the hospital, the nurses gathered daily on the grassy shoulder of Holly Road, waving protest signs and chanting.

But on Sunday, Kerzka saw police cars and ambulances flying past her spot on the picket line and later noticed black smoke rising toward the sky from a church about a mile away. She and other nurses saw online there had been a mass casualty event – what they termed a “Code Black” back in the hospital.

They had trained for just such a moment, but the ongoing strike limited their ability to help.

“What do I do?

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