How Does the Cremation Process Work From Start to Finish?

At this point, most people have a general understanding of how cremation services in Brentwood, TN work. They know that cremation involves using heat to break down a person’s body to cremated remains. But they don’t always know exactly how the entire cremation process plays out. If you’re not familiar with the cremation process, find out how it plays out from start to finish below.

A deceased person’s body is properly identified.

Before anything else takes place during a Brentwood, TN cremation, it’s important for a funeral home to properly identify a person’s body. Once a cremation is complete, there is obviously no way to reverse it. So it’s essential for a funeral home to check and double-check that the body they’re getting ready to cremate is the right one. It’s also essential for funeral homes to obtain the proper authorization from a person’s family prior to cremating them.

The body is prepared for the start of cremation.

Once a person’s body has been properly identified, it’ll be time for a funeral home to start preparing the body for cremation. All jewelry and medical devices will be removed from a person’s body. The person’s body will also be placed into whatever clothing their family requested. Some families choose to cremate their loved one’s in a simple cloth gown, while others go all out and put their loved ones into special articles of clothing. It’s up to families to decide what their loved ones are going to wear while they’re being cremated.

The body is placed inside of a cremation chamber and cremated.

After a person’s body is ready for cremation, the body will then be put into a basic cremation container that is made out of wood or some other material that is combustible. Once that’s done, it’ll be moved into a cremation chamber, and the temperature in the chamber will be turned up to anywhere from 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This is hot enough for a body to be cremated. The body will usually be subjected to this kind of heat for somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours, though a cremation can take longer than that in some cases.

The cremated remains are gathered up and placed into a cremation urn.

At the end of the cremation process, the only thing left from a person’s body will be a small pile of remains, which are also sometimes referred to as “cremains.” They’ll be gathered up, ground up, and then placed inside of a cremation urn before being given to a person’s family. The family can then decide what they want to do with the remains next. They can take them home, bury them, or scatter them in a special place if they want. It’s all up to them.

Interested in finding out more about the cremation process and how it works? Cremation Society of Tennessee can walk you through it. We can also assist those families who need to make Brentwood, TN funeral arrangements for their loved ones. Contact us to schedule a consultation.