Farrar said it’s important that trauma cleanup be done by professionals, not just because of the risk of disease involved with cleaning bodily fluids, but because of the emotional toll cleanup can have on a family.
“For them to have to go and clean this up themselves is horrific,” she said.
She said her company responds to unattended deaths often, as well as suicides.
“It’s very rewarding emotionally because of how you’re helping a family,” she said. “Sometimes they just want someone to talk to.”
Employee Bruce Clepper said the job can be emotionally taxing for those cleaning up as well.
“When you’re on your hands and knees restoring a home, you’re among the deceased’s very personal property. You really get quite a feel for who they were,” he said.
Farrar said it takes a unique individual to do the job; someone who is very compassionate and caring, but who can handle the physical demands of the job.
Among her 18 employees are nurses and firefighters working part time, who have trauma training from their other jobs.
It’s the job of the bioremediation company to erase any left behind traces so the family can begin to heal.
Actual cleanup involves removing carpets and even walls that are not salvageable, applying degreaser to remove blood and other organic material, and going over every inch of the scene for the smallest traces left behind.
Clepper said he was amazed to learn how far a scene can spread out. “In a trauma we’ve seen blood travel a very long way. Like out of a room and down a stairway. It can go around corners,” he said. Farrar said it’s important when hiring a company for this kind of work to make sure they are OSHA compliant and adhere to NIOSH, EPA and CDC rules and regulations.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2124 or kwedell@coxohio.com.
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