# What Happens With Dead People?



## XxBigBrotherxX (Jan 18, 2009)

hey everybody. Im starting my EMT-B class on the 22nd of this month and i was just wondering whose responsibility is it to clean up dead people, blood, or any of that stuff at a scene. Like i really wouldnt mind trying to save the life of a severly wounded pt(no matter how bloody the situation). But im really not too fond of having to pick up dead people or clean blood and guts and stuff up. Is that a job for EMTs? Sorry if my question is really unclear.


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## marineman (Jan 18, 2009)

The body is the job of the medical examiner. Most places that I've heard of if you stop resuscitation in the field a cop will stay with the body until the ME arrives so you can get back in service sooner. Maybe you'll have to stay with the body in your system, hard to say. For blood, guts, etc. depending on where it is and the status of the scene (crime scene or not) the cleanup will fall on different people but we never hang out and clean up. 

The only time you'll definitely get stuck with a body is if you transport a PNB (dead person) and the doc calls it before you get them out of the ambulance. Then you have to leave the body in the ambulance until the ME comes and takes it. The hospital cannot accept transfer of a body, that's why you're stuck with it in that scenario. Only way I ever clean up blood is if it's on the patient and I have nothing better to do or if it's in the ambulance.


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## XxBigBrotherxX (Jan 18, 2009)

oh ok thanks marineman..that does clear up alot for me..and releases some nervousess..lol..yeah i just did some reading..i tihnk the coroner are the people that is in charge of that.


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## marineman (Jan 18, 2009)

Medical examiner is pretty much the new "cool" term for coroner but yeah it's their job. Ambulances used to haul bodies but in my area that quit long ago, not sure about other areas.


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## EMTCop86 (Jan 18, 2009)

We got called out once to go and hose down a patio where a guy blew his head off. Luckily we were on a off-road T/C and had to air lift the patient out so the other fire engine had to go "cleanup"


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## Ridryder911 (Jan 19, 2009)

In the prehospital setting the body is left for the Field Investigator of the Medical Examiner office or Forensics. In fact most cities no longer request EMS as the officers are capable to declare death on obviously d.o.a.

In the hospital setting, if the patient meets questionable criteria then the body is left alone and all tubings, etc. is left for the M.E. If death is declared natural causes it is not unreasonable for the nurse or an assigned tech (i.e.EMT) to prepare the body for viewing. 

R/r 911


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## marineman (Jan 19, 2009)

Tell me you weren't working as an EMT when you got that call. Our dispatcher would have gone nutty and refused that but if dispatch accepted that call one call to our ops director and the dispatcher would be seeking employment elsewhere effective immediately. 

We do use the fire department to clean up large amounts of blood outdoors, that's 75% of the time that they get to use their hoses is cleaning up after us.


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## fortsmithman (Jan 19, 2009)

With my service if death occurs outside the hospital then we are called to transport the body to the hospital morgue.   we  only transport after we get clearence from the coroner.


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## mycrofft (Jan 19, 2009)

*But you get to clean up your vehicles equip and person.*

BTW, Different places have different titles but the following seem to be pretty universal: medical examiner does post-mortems exams and dissection or "necropsies", and the coroner is the official in charge of representing the dead when there is no one else to do so (unidentified or intestate deceased, or a person who dies with a will but no executor or heirs-by-law apparent). The ME often works for the coroner. The cororner is often elected, sometimes appointed; in rural areas without an official ME, it has been customary for local MD's to rotate the duty.
PS: you have to wash twice with cold water to get out brains if they dry.


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## EMTCop86 (Jan 19, 2009)

marineman said:


> Tell me you weren't working as an EMT when you got that call. Our dispatcher would have gone nutty and refused that but if dispatch accepted that call one call to our ops director and the dispatcher would be seeking employment elsewhere effective immediately.
> 
> We do use the fire department to clean up large amounts of blood outdoors, that's 75% of the time that they get to use their hoses is cleaning up after us.


 
Oh sorry I forgot to mention that was when I was with the Fire Dept not EMT at the time. So yea that was a crazy day, I actually knew the guy. I worked with his wife at Del Taco and I am sitting at home one day and get a call from work saying so and so has been shot. I rush over to their house and apparently the husband got mad about something, shot his wife, mother in law and then himself. The wife (who I worked with) and her mom were already gone to the hospital. My engine was there so I went up and talked to them. They ended up not having any volunteers on the engine at the time so I went to the station and jumped on. About 4 or 5 hours later we get a call for a off road T/C, guy riding a quad slammed into the side of the mountain. Ended up having to airlift him out. Well while we were waiting for Mercy Air to get there, PD called and wanted us to wash off the patio. Captain said nope call the other station that we were busy. I ended up seeing the wife about 2 months later and she has some nasty scares. She was shot in the head, arm and leg. Her mom was shot in the back. Both made a full recovery luckily. I guess her kids were pretty messed up though because they saw the whole thing happen.


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## tydek07 (Jan 19, 2009)

XxBigBrotherxX said:


> hey everybody. Im starting my EMT-B class on the 22nd of this month and i was just wondering whose responsibility is it to clean up dead people, blood, or any of that stuff at a scene. Like i really wouldnt mind trying to save the life of a severly wounded pt(no matter how bloody the situation). But im really not too fond of having to pick up dead people or clean blood and guts and stuff up. Is that a job for EMTs? Sorry if my question is really unclear.



Hi,

That totally depends on the service. I volunteer with a service every once and awhile, and they clean up a lot of the "blood and guts" and usually transport the body to the city (which is around 30 minutes away).

But, the paid service that I work for, we hardly every pick up bodies. The only time we ever go and transport a body, is when all the funeral homes are busy and request that we go do it. I haven't had to pick up a body for over a month now 

But ya, it completely depends on the service and what that service and the city/town/county have pre-arranged.

Take Care,


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