500 lb. body causes fire at Virginia crematory
As you may realize, when a morbidly obese person is cremated, there’s a danger of what can only be called (in layman’s terms) a “grease fire.” In the past — especially in America — such fires have prompted crematoriums to purchase larger retorts (a retort is the “oven”) and to use different methods of cremating morbidly obese persons.
Despite such responses by crematoriums, morbid obesity is a growing problem in first-world counties. A recent survey shows that 63% of Americans are either overweight or obese. That percentage has stayed relatively steady over the past couple years.
Yet, the percentage of morbidly obese persons (those who are 100 pounds over a healthy weight) has doubled every five years.
And as more and more people become morbidly obese, crematoriums sometimes (although very rarely) have this problem:
An attempt to cremate a 500 pound body sparked a fire at a crematory in Henrico Wednesday afternoon, according to company’s manager.
Southside Cremation Services has been in business for 20 years and the manager says it has never had this problem before. Three bodies were being processed around 12:12 p.m. when the fire started at the crematory off Mechanicsville Turnpike near Interstate 64.
Crews put the fire out after about 30 minutes. A hot cremation unit caused part of the roof to catch fire, then a smoke stack. No one was hurt and the fire is now under control, according to Henrico Fire.
The business will be closed for a few days to repair damage to the roof and furnace.
Via Kansas City TV
