If you’re still uncertain about whether or not cremation is right for you or someone you know, that may be because you have some outstanding questions about exactly what it entails. Once you’ve become somewhat familiar with the process itself, you still may have some legitimate concerns. If you’re looking into cremations in the Beech Grove, IN, area, rest assured that there are caring professionals prepared to address these kind of questions and concerns. They’re certainly worthwhile. In the meantime, you may wish to better familiarize yourself with some of the concepts. When speaking with a specialist or funeral director, it may be particularly helpful to have performed some background reading in advance.

Your first question may be: What exactly happens in that furnace? Put simply, an open flame is used by way of computerized programming to heat the body at temperatures ranging between 1400 and 1600 degrees F. Thanks to that extreme heat, the body combusts and much of it turns to gas as a result. Primary combustion burns off any tissue, organs and body fat (along with the cremation container in which the deceased is temporarily housed). The bone fragments left there after remain in the primary chamber while gasses continue to a secondary chamber and undergo continued combustion. When finished, those gases are discharged from the crematorium itself.

Note that certain items may not be cremated along with the body of the deceased. These items generally include jewelry, some metal items and some medical devices.

When the body had been fully reduced to bone fragments, it is then subject to a machine that pulverizes those fragments into what is generally recognized as cremated remains. Those remains tend to weigh between just four and six pounds when all is said and done. The chamber may be vacuumed or swept in order to collect those remains. Mostly calcium phosphate, cremated remains are essentially just the reduction of one’s skeletal structure into more manageable ashes.

Note that there is now an alternative to this more traditional process. Alkaline hydrolysis uses pressure and low heat to achieve a somewhat similar effect, instead reducing the body to a liquid in lieu of the more traditional ashes. While this technique isn’t available in all areas, a funeral director can let you know more about the possibility thereof.

Cremation may or may not be entirely consistent with what you’ve envisioned as an eternal resting place, but there are certainly good reasons to consider it. In addition to the possibility of being buried or interred, cremated remains create a number of options for family to remember the deceased in a dignified or highly personalized fashion. They can even be turned into jewelry or artwork.

If you’re looking for more information on Beech Grove, IN, cremations, consider reaching out to the O’Riley - Branson Funeral Service & Crematory. We look forward to handling your needs in a compassionate fashion, addressing any questions or concerns you may have in a caring and professional way. You may visit us at 6107 S East St Indianapolis, IN 46227 or place a phone call at (317) 787-8224. Our funeral directors are well-trained and qualified to address your circumstances, whatever they may be.