OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) — The Winnebago County Board recently approved the donation of a mobile morgue from Fox Valley Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition.
The mobile morgue will be available throughout the region; not just in Winnebago County.
“During COVID-19, we discovered as a county and as a region, we didn’t have enough storage capacity for daily bodies that needed to be autopsied,” said Eric Rasmussen, Winnebago County Emergency Management Director. “Which doesn’t give us any additional capacity for mass-casualty incidents.”
The unit is meant to be used in temporary, overflow capacity and not for every day or long-term storage.
As mass casualty incidents across the country continue to rise rapidly, the county wanted to be sure they were prepared.
Mass casualty incidents can include mass shootings, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters like wildfires, floods, or tornadoes.
“In Winnebago County and throughout our region, we do host a large number of large events; EAA, and the Packers are here, where we didn’t have this tool available to us in the region,” said Rasmussen.
The donation was made final after it received approval from the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, Personnel and Finance Committee, and Winnebago County Board.
The mobile morgue can hold eight bodies; it’s valued at about $30 thousand.
