Some seek additional regulation of cremations
Acceptance is growing in Oklahoma for alternative to traditional burial
Oklahomans appear to be changing their minds about cremations, with 44 percent of people now choosing to be cremated, according to data from the Oklahoma Department of Health.
“I expect that cremation will gradually increase and then plateau out over the next 10 years,” said Chris Ferguson, director of the Oklahoma Funeral Board. “I would say we are below the (national) average.”
Indeed, cremations are now preferred over traditional burials on a national scale, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.
The association expects cremations to continue to grow in Oklahoma by about 30 percent and the option of a traditional
burial to decrease, as the baby boomer generation is dying off.
“Cremations are becoming a lot more socially acceptable here in Oklahoma,” said John Fritch, department chair of Funeral Services at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Still, many in the industry are concerned that people do not fully understand their options and what happens to their loved ones during the process.
There are only 48 crematories in Oklahoma to service more than 400 funeral homes, which leads to bodies being shipped to cremation warehouses, which are generally closed to the public.
“You have the right to know where they go; you should know where they go and who is handling your loved one’s body during a cremation,” said Darin Corbett, owner of Oklahoma City Cremation.
His business offers tours of its crematory.
Fritch also believes cremations soon will outpace traditional burials in the state.
Last year, 16,817 cremations were done across the state, compared with 19,668 traditional burials.
Transparency
Corbett said now is the time to become more transparent on where a body goes. Many states require funeral homes to disclose over the phone or in person if a body will be sent to a contracted cremation warehouse.
“People just assume it is a crematory. They make no distinction between a cremation service and a crematory,” he said. “That is misrepresentation.” Corbett owns several crematories, including in Arizona. His is one of 10 crematories in Oklahoma City and it cremates more than 500 bodies a year from across the state.
Many funeral homes offer cremation services, but likely do not own a crematory.
“We want cremations to be elevated and regulated to a higher level of standards,” Corbett said. “We are in the Wild West when it comes to regulations on cremation.”
Ferguson said the Oklahoma Funeral Board will be proposing legislation for changes on cremation during the next legislative session.
Corbett said his business employs the use of video surveillance during the entire process. It’s the best way to know that the ashes are authentic, he said.
Families may review any part of the footage, which is deleted after 12 days.
Families’ No. 1 concern, however, is the cost of cremation, Fritch said.
The cost
Cremation packages are not always cheaper. Costs can reach several thousand dollars depending on the services and type of casket that is purchased.
A basic cremation can cost from $900 to $2,250, according to the Cremation Association of North America.
“When most families come to us as funeral directors, they do not know what they want,” Fritch said. “It would be false to say it is less expensive because you are cutting out certain things. You can spend as much as you want with a cremation.”
Also, cremation costs could include the medical examiner’s permit, which is about $200, and other fees.
“When they give you a number, follow it up with, ‘Is that what I would put on my check?’ That way, it will pull out
anything they have not disclosed in their original price quote,” Corbett said.
Corbett’s advice to anyone seeking cremation services is to ask three questions:
• What is the price?
• Where does the actual cremation occur?
• How do I know that it’s the correct ashes?
The process
He and Fritch said many people do not understand everything that is involved with a cremation, mostly because of Hollywood portrayals.
“They portray what cremation is, and it is this real peaceful thing,” Fritch said. “That is just not how it is. It takes intense heat and direct flames and that is straight up what cremation is.”
An average retort — a cremation oven — temperature is 1,800 degrees, which is three times the temperature of the hottest setting on a home oven.
“There are direct flames,” Fritch said. “When you look in the chamber you basically see what would resemble a skeleton.”
Once the skeleton is all that remains, bones are taken out and ground up into a fine granular consistency.