State Medical Examiner's Office's Refrigeration System Malfunctioned Tuesday

An uneventful day is a good day at the State Medical Examiner's office but Tuesday was not one of them.

Tuesday, July 21st 2015, 6:46 pm

By: News 9


An uneventful day is a good day at the State Medical Examiner's office but Tuesday was not one of them.

The refrigeration system malfunctioned again Tuesday afternoon.

The staff had to quickly implement  their contingency plan, in order to preserve more than two dozen bodies.

"We realized the temperatures of the main body cooler have been climbing and it's getting to the point where we can no longer trust the cooler," said Amy Elliott, state medical examiner's office spokeswoman and chief administrative officer.

She called on the Oklahoma Department of Health for help.

Two refrigerated trucks arrived about 3 p.m. as a temporary solution for preserving 25 bodies currently being stored at the morgue.

"The main concern with the cooler being down is the warmer the decedents are kept the more rapid the decomposition rate goes," Elliott said.

The trucks will be kept on site and cooled to 44 degrees until the body cooler is repaired.

"It's the respectable thing to do," Elliott said.

As chief administrative officer, Elliott is quite familiar with what to do in a situation like this.  

In recent years, the agency has dealt with all sorts of equipment failures including a broken refrigerator in 2012  and the freezer completely giving out in June.

"Once again, it's just a Band-Aid, after a Band-Aid, after a Band-Aid, that's all we can do at this point.," Elliott said.

It would be irresponsible for the agency to put a new cooler in the old building, she said.

The agency is expecting to get a new facility but no official timetable has been given.

"The answer is a new building with a new cooler and until then we will keep putting Band-Aids on," she said.

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