On March 1, the Florida Cemetery Cremation and Funeral Association (FCCFA) conducted a day-long Mass Fatality Training for members in Tampa, Florida. As Floridians we are familiar with the havoc natural disasters can wreak and have increasingly been exposed to the peril of man-made mass fatality events such as the Pulse Nightclub and the Marjorie Stoneman Douglass shootings.  The Surfside building collapse is another event that took place in our state causing mass fatalities. This training provided a thorough overview of the situations funeral professionals should be prepared to address during and after a mass fatality event.  The training also provided resources that attendees can use to ensure their funeral homes and communities are prepared, should an unthinkable event occur.

The training was led by several FCCFA members who are highly trained and experienced in responding to mass fatality events: Thomas “Tommy” Ralph, Russ Chisolm, and Liam Smith as well as Florida Emergency Mortuary Response Operations System (FEMORS) Commander Dr. Jason Byrd.

Some photos from the event: