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Young Forensic Scientists Forum

Young Forensic Scientists Forum Newsletter - July 1999

Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (D.M.O.R.T.)

The following is reproduced with permission of Paul S. Sledzik, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Region III DMORT Commander. If you are interested in joining a DMORT Team, please contact the Team Commander in your region. You can find their names and phone numbers by going to www.oep-ndms.dhhs.gov and clicking on "NDMS" and then "About Teams."

The US Government Federal Response Plan tasks the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) under Emergency Support Function #8 (ESF #8) to provide victim identification and mortuary services. These responsibilities include temporary morgue facilities, victim identification, processing, preparation and disposition of remains.

The NDMS created the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORT) to address these responsibilities. DMORT Teams are composed of private citizens, each with a particular field of expertise, who are activated in the event of a disaster. DMORT members are required to maintain appropriate certifications and licensure within their discipline. When members are activated, licensure and certification is recognized by all states, and the team members are compensated for their duty time by the Federal government as a temporary Federal employee.

During an emergency response, DMORT Teams work under the guidance of local authorities by providing technical assistance and personnel to recover, identify and process deceased victims. The DMORT Teams are the primary responder to transportation accidents with the National Transportation Safety Board and work closely with other federal agencies to coordinate disaster mortuary planning and response.

DMORT Teams are directed by the National Disaster Medical System in conjunction with a Regional Coordinator in each of the ten federally designated regions. Teams are composed of: forensic pathologists, forensic odontologists, forensic anthropologists, fingerprint specialists, funeral directors/morticians/embalmers, medical records technicians/transcribers, x-ray technicians, mental health specialists, security and administrative personnel and support personnel. A DMORT Team may be dispatched in whole or in part depending on the scope of the disaster.

There are ten teams positioned strategically across the United States, one each in the ten Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regions.

The DMORT Teams maintain a mobile morgue in the Washington, DC, area that contains equipment and supplies for deployment to a disaster site. It contains a complete morgue with designated workstations for each processing element and prepackaged equipment and supplies.