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.

Thank you OP.

A real taboo-buster.
Thank you so much OP.

" it's here that we remove any hips/knees/big pieces before the cremulating happens."
Calcified pelvises? Where do they go?

Please, I'd like to know, If ashes are predominately calcified bones, what is left of a miscarried baby too young to have osified bones?
The FD said there would be ashes, although I haven't gone to fetch them yet. They can't be woollen blanket ashes if the cremator is at 1000°C. What will I be bringing home?

I wish I'd known I could watch him going into the cremator. They told me I couldn't.

Such an interesting thread. Thank you.

Hi, if you are still answering questions I have one I would like to ask please.

Do you think the job impacts your over all mood and emotional well-being? I would imagine it’s not the type of job you could do with a big happy smile on your face.

I find funerals emotionally draining (as I’m sure most people do). It’s hard to explain but even if I didn’t know the person very well I still find the overall emotion of the funeral. I couldn’t imagine dealing with death every day without it seriously taking a toll on my overall mood.

Sorry for asking Kermit am I correct in thinking that the ashes a family recives back are just the bones of the deceased? Not the ashes of the coffin ? Would that just completely disappear.

Not being rude people but Kermit has been so polite and informative on this thread.

Lots of you are now asking questions that she has answered several times already. How about taking the time to RTFT??

Thank you so much for this Kermit. Along with many others I've found it fascinating and also soothing to hear about how loved ones have been treated. I'm living with a condition that could kill me with no warning and this information is invaluable as I put together my own plans.

Please don’t worry if you don’t want to answer this - you have answered so many questions already and I’ll bet when you started the thread you didn’t expect to get so many!

I was just wondering when you said about cancer patients taking longer and about finding the tumours afterwards. Did I read that right? The tumour(s) survive the cremation in the same way that bones do?

If I’ve read that right (and please do correct me if I’m wrong), is there an option for you to remove the tumour(s) before cremulation so that the family are receiving the ashes of the body back only without the cancer along with it?

@CarefullyAirbrushedPotato sorry I should have clarified when I said big pieces I was referring to metals. When someone has had big pieces during an operation for example.

We get ashes from babys they still have tiny bones and they go in for not very long at all.

Was your baby an NVF (before 24 weeks gestation)

@ThanksForAllTheFish I'm a naturally optimistic person and I do have to take a step back from my job mentally. Sometimes when we have had a sad one (young baby/child/suicide) we discuss it in the office and make sure we're all alright.

My job makes me live each day as if it's my last. You really never know what's round the corner and I also don't sweat the small stuff.

@user1473460538 yes calcified bones and tiny amount of coffin

If hips and knees and big pieces can’t go in the cremulator how do they get ground to ashes? Unless of course you mean metal joints.

@TamiTayorismyparentingguru the tumours do burn away to nothing but they take a long time to do so. The only thing we rake out of a cremator is calcified bone and maybe a tiny bit of coffin.

We are not allowed to rake out until the last flicker of orange flame has died out and sometimes we're waiting an extra 20 minutes for this to happen.

@Flatteryontheside I do indeed mean metal hips/knees/pins/plates. We would never remove any bones only metal.

Thank you for taking the time to answer kermit I really appreciate it. I am rather glad that the tumours don’t survive and that I misunderstood you!

Kermit thank you. The two circled coffins were pine / pine and bamboo. The rest were wicker or cardboard. They're all from an eco-coffin company, but it's really interesting to learn that for cremation some are more eco than others.

I think I'm going to look up some videos / diagrams of how a cremator & cremulator works.

Thank you so much for this thread, your responses have been so polite and insightful

www.ecoffins.co.uk/products.aspx

Fascinating.

I’ve said to dp we can talk to our parents about this as they all want as little fuss as possible.

I feel bad about my DGF he wanted buried in the family plot but DGM just cremated him instead.

Thank you for such a reassuring thread
It's only when you stop and think you realise there are some very special people out there who care for people even after death.appreciate the honesty and the openess of your thread

@MummySparkle they sound exactly what you're looking for. Please do have a google and if you're unsure about the way it works please ask.

Apparently you can buy coffins in some supermarkets in South Africa.

Thank you for this Kermit, it’s been fascinating. My dad deceived last weekend to update me on his plans for his and my mum’s wills, and funeral plans. He wants a direct cremation, so this has been a reminder to do a little research into that. Though, as he says, funerals are for the living, so if he goes first we’ll do (within reason) whatever my mum wants.

Regarding the American video linked above, I recently read Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, and that, while also American, is a LOT more like Kermit’s description of her work than it is the video. Heartily recommended, at least until Kermit writes her own book!

Wow just finished reading
Thank you for such an informative post