Wake County to start storing bodies requiring autopsies in shipping containers
Wake County will soon use refrigerated shipping containers to store bodies requiring autopsies.
When a person dies and an autopsy is needed, state law requires counties to provide or contract space for the autopsy examination and storage of the body.
For at least 25 years, Wake County has had a handshake agreement with the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to store bodies at the office’s main office in Raleigh. Now the county has been told it must find its own space.
“This is obviously a large undertaking and kind of took us a little bit by surprise,” said Joshua Creighton, Wake County’s emergency management director. “But they’ve been very gracious and (are) giving us time to plan.”
The OCME has four regional facilities including its Raleigh office.
“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) is not a county facility and does not have a contract with any county to fill this statutory requirement,” according to an email statement from the department. “The OCME is currently working closely with Wake County to support their need to develop Wake County decedent storage as established by this statute.”
The office did not respond to a follow-up question about its informal agreement and what prompted the change.
But Creighton said with population growth, the aging population and an increase in opioid overdose deaths, “the capacity of the OCME facility is maxed out.”
Wake County’s proposed $1.86 billion budget includes $2.4 million to buy two refrigerated shipping containers that can hold 70 bodies with the capacity to go up to 100 bodies. That will meet Wake County’s needs for at least the next five years until a permanent building can be constructed.
Number of bodies needing autopsies increasing
When an autopsy is needed, Wake County pays Western Wake Fire Rescue to take the body to the OCME.
State law requires autopsies under a variety of circumstances including if someone dies from violence or an accident, if someone in good health suddenly dies or if there is a drug overdose.
In 2020, there was a 19% increase in transports, but the numbers have fallen to pre-pandemic levels, Crieghton said.
Still Wake County is seeing about 7% more bodies that need to be transported each year. In the last fiscal year, 1,116 bodies had to be taken to the OCME’s Raleigh office..
The shipping containers will be placed at the county’s Hammond Road property at the Wake County Detention Center Annex.
“We’ve added some infrastructure to make sure things go smoothly,” Creighton said. “Obviously, the facility needs to be held at a certain temperature. And so we’ve hooked up large generators to make sure that continues. We’ve also installed monitoring software, so that we know if the power is accidentally cut off. If we lose grid power, we (will) know the status of the generators, and how much fuel is in it and all that kind of stuff. We’ve also taken extra steps for disposal of biohazard waste, and things like that. All the things that go into it.”
Using refrigerated containers to store decedents is not uncommon around North Carolina and the country.
“Due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and decedent surge increases across the state, the OCME purchased a mortuary response solution in the form of decedent storage refrigerated trailers that were put into use October 2020,” according to the OCME statement.
But those containers are only for storage. Autopsies will still be performed at the OCME until a permanent facility is built.
Wake County’s proposed budget also anticipates $29 million to build a new permanent facility to store bodies and provide space for autopsies to be performed. Wake County will do a study later this fall to help with the “long-term solution.”
The Wake County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on the budget June 5.
