What is cremation?
Cremation is a process of reducing the human body to bone fragments using high heat and flame.
What happens during cremation?
Once the ceremony has finished, the curtains close and everyone leaves the ceremony room, the coffin is carefully transferred to the crematory.
All necessary documentation is first inspected and verified by an independent Medical Referee (Registered Medical Doctor) and then by our technician.
Before the coffin is placed inside the cremator, our technician will carry out the pre-cremation checks. The technician fills out an identity card and allocates a heat resistant cremation identification stone. This stone stays with the coffin during cremation, ensuring the number on the stone that enters the cremator matches the identification of the ashes at the end of the process. Once all checks are recorded, the coffin is charged into the cremator and the cremation process begins.
The actual cremation itself takes on average 90 minutes. However it can vary from 40 minutes for smaller remains to 150 minutes for a larger remains. The temperature during a cremation will peak at around 900 – 1000 degrees centigrade. At the end of the cremation process the remains are collected and cooled.
The final stage is the reduction of the remaining skeletal bone fragments into a fine ash that is suitable for scattering. This is achieved by processing the remains in a cremulator.
The remaining ashes are placed into an urn or casket where a nameplate will be attached for identification.
The urn/ashes casket is the returned to the funeral director or next of kin.
Is the coffin cremated with the remains?
Yes, the coffin is always cremated with the deceased.
Is it possible to cremate two coffins at once?
Never. Not only is it illegal to do so, most modern cremation chambers are not of sufficient size to accommodate more than one coffin.
How long does it take to have the ashes returned?
We aim to return the ashes to the Funeral Director or family of the deceased within 5 working days.
What are my options for the disposal of ashes?
Ashes may be kept at home, interred in a family grave, interned in a columbarium or scattered on private property.