Chapter 2: Mass Fatalities Incidents 1 CE Hour
Course overview Funeral directors and embalmers play an active role in the aftermath of mass fatality incidents (MFIs). This course will define MFIs and their classification levels, as Learning objectives After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Interpret the definition and meaning of MFIs and the role of funeral directors and embalmers. Recognize the vital role funeral service professionals, personnel, and related entities have played in historic MFI. Differentiate between the classification levels of MFIs.
well as the preparation, consideration, coordination, and communication required to best serve the victims and loved ones affected.
Recognize the infrastructure designed for the occurrence of such incidents, including the roles and responsibilities of various agencies and organizations. Design standard operating procedures and plans for staff and personnel in preparation for MFIs impacting one’s local community or area.
INTRODUCTION
Funeral directors and embalmers have always stood ready to assist families in their most difficult times of need. On a typical day, the schedule of a funeral director can, and often does, change with a single phone call. When these
calls come, funeral service professionals are willing and prepared to care for victims while also caring for their loved ones. Complex and comprehensive planning is required to adequately prepare an infrastructure for MFIs.
MASS FATALITY INCIDENTS DEFINED (MFIS)
or the remains of the deceased with chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive contaminants is referred to as a complex MFI (Merrill et al., 2015). The events that result in MFIs can be caused by natural forces or by humans. The incidents resulting from the actions of humans can be intentional or accidental. Examples of natural incidents that have resulted in MFIs include hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods, heat waves, and blizzards. Events that have been intentionally caused by humans and resulted in MFIs include foreign and domestic terroristic attacks, and can also include mass shootings and other criminal acts. There are also MFIs that are humanmade but accidental, such as factory explosions, construction failures, and transportation-related accidents. There are those who plan, prepare, train, and stand ready to respond in order to serve the victims and their families.
The conventionally recognized MFI definition involves a situation in which the number of deaths exceeds the local jurisdiction’s response capabilities (Merrill et al., 2015). A particular event does not need to result in a preset number of deaths in order for it to be considered an MFI. The jurisdiction for deaths is typically determined by local laws and regulations. When an event results in deaths that exceed the normal capability of these local offices, they can request assistance from a number of other agencies, groups, and organizations. When this assistance is requested, the incident is referred to as an MFI. The number of deaths that constitute an MFI will vary across jurisdictions. Some generally accepted terminology exists to describe various types of MFIs. An incident that results in hundreds of deaths or more is considered to be a large- scale MFI. An event that results in contamination of the site
HISTORICAL MFIS
Despite preparations and advanced planning for MFIs, the devastation of storms can still be just as massive. On August 27, 2005, members of the federal Disaster Mortuary Operations Response Team (DMORT) were deployed to the state of Louisiana. There was a massive hurricane— Hurricane Katrina—expected to hit the coast in less than 48 hours. At the time, Katrina was a massive tropical storm that was growing to a Category 5 hurricane, as indicated by the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The DMORT set up temporary morgue facilities in an empty brick warehouse in nearby St. Gabriel, Louisiana. The direct impact of Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,200 people. Nearly 850 of the deceased bodies were taken to temporary morgue facilities in St. Gabriel, where they were identified and cared for before being returned to loved ones for final disposition (Page, 2005).
To properly serve the victims and families affected by future events, we must look to the reactions, management, successes, and failures related to past MFIs. A seaport in Galveston, Texas, experienced a normal heat wave in the middle of hurricane season. On September 8, 1900, the Great Storm made landfall with winds in excess of 120 miles per hour and a tidal surge that exceeded 15 feet. The storm resulted in at least 6,000 fatalities, one- sixth of the city’s population. The headlines of The Daily Times Herald of Dallas read “Dead, Dead, Dead, Dead Everywhere.” Martial law was enacted, and citizens were forced to load barges with deceased bodies, which were then sent out to sea. The bodies were attached to weights and dropped into the vast waters. In the days following this disposal method, many bodies were swept back ashore. It was then that vast funeral pyres were built, and the corpses burned. The funeral pyres burned on the beaches for two months straight, emitting nauseating fumes as far as 50 miles off the coast (Kolker, 2000).
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