Plan for New Coroner’s Facility to Be Considered

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider preliminary construction plans for a $12-million Orange County coroner’s office in Santa Ana, complete with a state-sponsored training facility for medical examiners across California.

The proposal calls for the demolition of the existing single-story office at 1071 W. Santa Ana Blvd., and replacing it with a two-story facility that is four times larger.

The new building will feature state-of-the-art diagnostic and investigative equipment, an enlarged autopsy view theater and increased freezer capacity. The building also will be home to a state coroners training facility and classrooms.

Orange County is the only county in the state that offers the Peace Officer Standard Training coroner classes, which are necessary for a coroner’s license. Currently, many of those training sessions are held in hotel conference rooms--forcing trainees to shuttle back and forth between the hotels and labs at the coroner’s office in Santa Ana.