What Are The Requirement To Be A Crime Scene Cleanup Technician?

Do you want to know about becoming a crime scene cleaner in Tennessee, Johnson City? I hope you have a strong stomach.

It is often filled with smells and visuals that most people don’t want to experience. The term “gag a maggot” comes to mind. The odors from a decomposed body can reach far from the home and into the parking area.

And maggots, yes, there are maggots in many cases as well as flies and rats, and even raccoons. But generally, maggots and flies go along with the territory and you get used to them. 

Not only is Crime scene cleaning not for anyone with a weak stomach, but it is demanding work. As a Biohazard Technician or as some call it, crime scene cleaner, you will be called to manage a wide range of situations, and you must be able to compose yourself professionally amongst even the most horrific scenes as you do your job.

You need to be able to handle yourself with people in various stages stress and anguish while doing a very thorough cleaning of the scene with compassion and professionalism. It’s not an easy job but we at Biomart Cleaners  value our promise to our clients of doing all we can to get the job done with as little stress and disruption possible. 

Our Motto is “Compassion, Safety, Peace of Mind”. Our clients trust us to do the job professionally, as fast as possible and with an understanding of the gravity of the situation. We are there to help and that’s what we do.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in Biohazard remediation, it will help to gain a better understanding of what the job entails before beginning any “crime scene cleanup” training.

What exactly do crime scene cleaners do? 

Biohazard and Crime scene cleaners specialize in cleaning and sanitizing homes, businesses, and vehicles after a death, homicides, suicides, industrial accidents, and other traumas involving blood, tissues or bodily fluids such as feces while demonstrating compassion toward those receiving services.

We are “second responders,” that come after the first responders have left, and our goal is to help families recover by relieving them of the burden of the cleanup of the situation and return to them the home that is completely clean and decontaminated.

How is this different from a typical cleaning service? 

Biohazard and Crime scene cleanup companies do more than just clean. If you were cleaning a floor like a typical cleaning service or simply the way you do in your home, imagine that everything that the area you are cleaning was now filled with the Ebola virus and you can see it.

And if not, careful it will spread with each pass of the mop and if you weren’t protected it might get on you and you will get sick. Scary right? Well, that’s the job of a Biohazard cleaner.

We treat every job as if there is Ebola present, meaning we abide by the “universal caution” of treating every blood spill and any bodily fluids as if they are extremely dangerous.

We need to remove the blood and bodily fluids as if they contain deadly viruses because they sometimes do. Blood may contain deadly pathogens such as HIV or Hep C that can make you sick or kill you so we are highly trained and protected.

 We also have to be very careful to not cross contaminate the area, meaning we don’t want someone walking through it and then spreading the contaminants to new areas. It’s a very methodical process.

This job requires patients, forethought and care in every step. This isn’t a mop and bucket type thing. This is a “on your hands and knees” hand cleaning with specialized chemicals and techniques so you can remove all aspects of the situation safely for yourself and the public.

Blood, brains, tissue, poop, urine, all of it must be completely removed and disinfected. It’s often requires us to be professional deconstruction experts. We cannot always get to the entire Bio area without removing carpets, flooring, baseboards, walls, drywall, subfloors etc.

It’s a lot to deal with while wearing PPE and keeping very careful and safe not to injure ourselves or the area. We need to be ready to use various saws and tools to do what needs to be done so it’s really nothing like a maid service or house cleaning service.

Are there Health and safety requirements that Biohazard and crime scene cleanup companies must meet?  Generally, in many states, biohazard and crime scene cleaning is not an officially regulated industry, there are restrictions, regulations, and guidelines that all biohazard cleanup personnel must follow to ensure health and safety to the public and themselves.

These protocols are overseen by agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Department of Transportation (DOT).

It’s important to learn OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard as well as many other standards, proper PPE understanding and use, a knowledge of chemicals and cleaning products, a general understanding of construction and of course people skills and compassion. If you understand all of this, that’s a good start because safety to all is job number one. 

What are Biohazard and Crime Scene Cleanup training and background requirements? 

In most states, becoming a Biohazard and crime scene cleaner does not require a college degree or certification. More states are pushing for more requirements and we here at Biomart Cleaners welcome that.

We train often and push for the most requirements for our industry. We take great pride in what we do and we want to be the best out there but we also want any competition to be as highly trained as possible.

Because people that require our services deserve the best treatment and understanding from our industry so more regulations will weed out the unprofessional hacks and we welcome that. Still interested? 

 

More than anything, it is important for Biohazard and crime scene cleaners to possess the following:

1. Training, lots of training.

Most Biohazard and Crime Scene Cleanup companies require crime scene cleanup training for their employees, educating them on best practices, the chemicals we use, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and safety risks such as bloodborne pathogen exposure as well as doing the job itself and understanding construction.

At Biomart Cleaners we have even built a training wall section and floors to show how a typical wall is built and how to deal with pipes, electric and flooring such as carpets and hardwood floors. We value training, knowledge and always Compassion. 

Biohazard and Crime scene cleaners encounter a wide range of tragic circumstances so being able to calmly get the details needed to do the job while being understanding is important. This goes for the entire job. 

Generally, no joking and laughing while on the job and you will need to be professional no matter what the circumstances. You may not be dealing with a “completely stable” person at this time. Some people have been pushed to their limits and you have to always be the helpful one and never the cause of more stress. 

2. Stamina. 

The job of a crime scene cleaner can be physically challenging and requires technicians to wear biohazard suits, full facemasks, respirators, and multiple sets of gloves while working hard to clean and disinfect the area.

We sometimes work long hours in the heat and severe humidity that comes with living in Tennessee as we remove walls and flooring etc. to do what needs to be done. We train to be safe from heat exhaustion and learn to take breaks and eat and drink when needed.

 But, sometimes it’s a very long day because we do our best to work thoroughly and get the job done quickly for the client. Its hard work.   

3.Integrity. 

Integrity is a must in any business but because customers trust Biohazard cleanup crews with their personal property, their homes and safety in general, integrity is a quality that is of the utmost importance.

We at Biomart Cleaners only choose highly trusted personnel and we value them. In many cases we find things of value such as jewelry and cash and we contact the client and photograph it and place where they choose so they can retrieve it.  

4. Commitment. 

Our clients often require Biohazard and crime scene cleaning services during odd hours. Biomart Cleaners  is ready to help 24-7. We can’t pick the time of an emergency so we are always on duty and ready to help.

Therefore, crime scene cleaners should be dedicated to the work and have flexible availability because that’s the job. It doesn’t mean you have to be available every day 24-7 but the company will always have reliable people ready to go at any hour.  

5. Attention to detail. 

Biohazard and Crime scene cleanup can result in several health risks, so following protocol and paying close attention to detail is a must. Details are the focus of what we do. Its also our job to remove the visuals of the situation.

A simple blood drop or worse left behind can trigger a serious level of stress to the client so we must be thorough and aggressive in our cleaning and inspections.

 

Situations include:

Crime scene cleanup: A crime can be a difficult situation. It may have police coming and going, detectives and victims and their families, neighbors and who knows who else.

We once came out of a cleanup of a double homicide to a gathering of hundreds of people who were surrounding the Biomart Cleaners truck as they were paying their respects as a community at the location.

You may have visits form screaming family members, and angry relatives. You never know what to expect so you do the job like a professional but we work as a team to also keep an eye out for anything unusual. 

A crime scene can be anything from a few drops of blood to full on chunks of brains and tissue with trails of blood in multiple locations. It can be something that you will never forget. Its often horrific and you have to be careful on how much you know about the situation so its not popping in your head later.

As stated earlier, this is not for everyone. Films and Tv are nothing by comparison for the real thing up close. Some of these can make you question humanity so understand that we do a lot to decompress after these situations.

We are serious on site out of respect and compassion, but when we leave, we try to talk and lighten the mood so we can all go home without the weight of what we just dealt with. 

Mental health is important and we like to keep our people healthy in mind and body so as a company we find things to do together to take our minds off of the scenes we deal with.  

Unattendeddeath cleanup.

 One of the most challenging situations that crime scene cleaners face is an unattended death. Many people underestimate the detrimental effects that an unattended death can have on the home and do not realize that it can impact both the safety and well-being of future occupants if not completely restored.

If someone dies and isn’t found for weeks, the amount of decomposition is affected by many things but if left long enough the body starts to liquify and these fluids get into walls, floors, furniture, subfloors, and often the ceiling of the area below.

So sometimes there can be great damage to multiple floors as well as the odors have permeated into everything so the entire house may need to have most things emptied and destroyed.

Anything soft will absorb the decomp odors so that covers everything from rugs to furniture, walls, clothing, curtains, books, and generally anything. It’s often a huge undertaking to clean out an unattended death.  

Suicidecleanup.

Cleaning up blood and other biological matter should be handled with extreme caution. A Biohazard cleaning company – unlike a general cleaning crew – possesses the tools and knowledge to remediate a scene thoroughly and safely.

Suicide scene much like a crime scene can be horrific and cause great damage as well as have a great number of reactions to the people left behind. Suicide is often a situation that has many victims and these friends and family members are left with a whole range of emotions and its never an easy situation to walk in to so our professionalism is paramount.

We must do our job and be compassionate, thorough and focused while possibly dealing with family members who are lost in their grief.  

Accidentand blood spill cleanup.

We do these cleanups with as much professionalism and compassion as any other cleanup. Whether it’s a death or a serious accident we treat it the same way, with professionalism. It may be at an office or factory and there may be workers coming and going so it’s something to do quickly but very thoroughly. 

Feces orbodily fluids.

These are part of the job. Sometimes people make a mess in the bathroom in a public restaurant, or someone has a medical issue and has been taken out in an ambulance but has left a serious mess of blood, feces or bodily fluids. That’s why we are here.

We are always here to help in these situations. Its not glamourous but its important and we treat these jobs like any other, with professionalism and compassion. 

Tear gascleanup. 

Tear gas is sometimes used by law enforcement at the scene of a crime and can be terribly difficult to clean afterwards. Until all of the chemicals are remediated, a building will remain unsafe and should not be inhabited. It takes some time and proper chemicals to deal with this but that is also part of our job. 

Hordingcleanup. 

A hoarding property cleanup can be something of a challenge. It can be from animal hoarding, trash hoarding or any items or all of the above. There can be mild areas or full on up to the ceiling trash and items and rooms you can’t even get into.

Hoarding is a sometimes a difficult situation where the hoarders themselves don’t want to let go of things so again patients and compassion are key. This is often a time where we can really improve someone’s life so as many of these situations it can be very rewarding.  

                                                                          So, if you have made it this far and you are still interested in Biohazard and Crime scene cleanup good for you. Not many can handle this kind of work but its very rewarding and never dull.

This is why Biomart has developed a 3-step disinfection process backed by more than 25 years of research and experience. We thoroughly wash and disinfect all potentially harmful biohazards from affected areas to ensure our customers’ property is returned to a safe, livable condition. 

Call Toll Free- 18886291222

There are some schools that teach the basics such as Amdecon, but its best to start with a ride along type situation to see if you can handle it. But like all things, not all companies are the same and some may not have the high standards that we here at Biomart Cleaners have so be aware.

You don’t want to learn unsafe or bad habits and if respect and compassion are not being practiced then you should move on to a better company. If you have questions, you can contact me the owner of  Biomart Cleaners ,Joshua Scherer via email on our site. Please do not call, leave that for our clients. 

Useful Links:

·         EPA

·         OSHA

·         CDC.Gov

·         Law Enforcement

·         Office Of the Crime Victims

·         Crime Scene Cleanup