Crematorium Technician here

[CodLiverOil556]

I see lots of threads about cremations and Crematoria. I'm currently a crem tech so please ask me questions and I will endeavor to answer them.

@ILoveKermit Thank you for starting this thread and taking the time to answer everyone's questions. I have always been absolutely terrified of crematoriums but you have helped to ease this for me, so that I can try to look at them in a new light.

Thank you also for the caring way you go about your job and your respect for people right until the end of their journey.

@WitchDancer for one our crematory is not dark and dingy like that one and also we receive coffins in whole.

The coffin is lined up and the machine is started (this switches any burners off) the door opens and you push the coffin in and close the door.

The door is not opened again until the last flicker of flame has extinguished. They on the video seem to be bashing the remains down whilst a burner is going?

The remains are then raked into a sump and the door closed then the process starts again.

This is a link to a good 'behind the scenes' tour of a British crematorium which someone mentioned up-thread. It puts to rest some myths and worries - . (It has a warning on it, but it's not graphic - it shows a coffin being 'charged' into a cremator, and a short shot through the cremator spyhole, but nothing detailed).

Helpful thread. As a vicar I’ve met so many families who are worried about the practicalities of the crematorium and are often afraid to ask these questions. I get on really well with our local crem staff and have had a full tour to enable me to offer reassurance and answers to families if required.

@kermit thank you for answering I just thought I'd ask as mum randomly mentions thibgs she would like me to do for it when the time comes.

@Weaverspin can you see how different a british Crematorium is to the American one upthread.

I’m really interested in this idea of families taking their own loved ones to the crematorium; I had no idea one was ‘allowed’ to do that. Sorry to ask a crass question, but how soon would a body need to be moved out of the home and off to the crem, before it started to..degrade?

I much prefer our way of doing things! Thank you, that has been very reassuring

Would really love a Q&A with a mortician/embalmer/unsure of the correct term, if any are around to host a thread? My daughter recently expressed an interest in the process of how the deceased are ‘prepared’ for their cremation or burial, and I realised I’m quite interested too!

@waterlego that's a question for a funeral director and I think it depends on how hot/cold it is. The deceased and lots of other factors.

So interesting, can I ask how much you would earn as a new starter full time please?

Thank you so much Kermit.

I've just read the whole thread. Your kind answers have allayed a number of things I hadn't even realised I hadn't reconciled in my own head.

Thanks Kermit.

I was going to ask the same as Panda about having the cremated bones returned without them being ground to ash.

I've handled ancient skeletal and cremated bone fragments and personally I take comfort that something of the person survives.

Marking place for later

@DailyMailDontStealMyThread between 16-17k

Kermit thank you. You have demystified the process so sensitively.

@DinosApple - when I visited a crematorium behind the scenes I asked the same question, and was told that yes, I could have the cremated remains back without them going through the cremulator to grind them down. I don't know if every crematorium would agree to it, though.

Fascinating thread thank you!

Would I be right in saying you don't have much direct contact with the deceased? In other words they come in in a sealed coffin from the funeral directors and go straight into the crem? Or are there times you do have to deal with the deceased ( maybe put them in coffin/ dress them) if no funeral director is used? I guess I'm wondering if you see some distressing sights, children/ bad accidents etc. Hope that's not too crass

@therockinggazelle you're absolutely right I don't have any contact with the deceased other than moving the coffin around and charging the cremator.

The funeral director deals with them although I have dealt with open casket funerals but the lid is sealed before committal into the crematory.

Hi. You say cancer tumours make a cremation last longer. I can't find any research but it seems incredibly interesting and important to understand why or how this happens. Is this anecdotal or is there more research somewhere?

You might not know the answer but with non viable fetuses from hospitals are these given any kind of name or just baby mums surname?

@bowtieandheels I don't believe there's any research just what I've experienced and can certainly tell by what bits are left and they tend to be tumors. It would probably make a very interesting study

@OurMiracle1106 some are given names but these tend to be further on. We are doing a 21 week NVF and he has a name but less than 10 weeks tend just to have baby

How would I find out what crem dealt with my babies? Would it be the closest one to the hospital and would each individual be given a unique reference number to trace them by?