Crime and trauma scene cleanup in Port Townsend is done by independent companies that remove and disinfect what is left after a crime, a serious injury or a death by suicide, so your family does not have to see or handle any of it. Cleanup can start only after the police, and the coroner if someone died, release the property. Biohazard Network connects you with an independent local company that you hire directly; we do not do the cleaning.
We are sorry you are facing this. If you or anyone in your family is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, confidential support at any time, day or night. You can call or text 988 or chat online, and counselors can also help someone worried about a loved one.
What this cleanup involves
This service covers a home, rental or workplace after an assault, a homicide, a break-in with injury, a serious accident, or a death by suicide. The work deals with biohazards, meaning biological materials such as blood that can carry disease. Blood can carry bloodborne pathogens, germs that cause serious illness, and cleanup crews also treat OPIM, short for “other potentially infectious materials,” meaning other body fluids that can carry those germs. Household cleaning is not enough: sprays and mops can spread contamination, and porous materials, meaning things that soak up liquid such as carpet, drywall and upholstery, can hold it below the surface.
What happens first: the scene must be released
Police control the scene first. If someone died, the coroner, the official who looks into certain deaths, is also involved. In Jefferson County, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office1 serves as coroner, and the role of the coroner is to determine cause and manner of death. Under RCW 68.50.010, deaths from unnatural or unlawful means or under suspicious circumstances fall under the coroner’s jurisdiction, and the family waits for that work to finish. Questions about the coroner’s work can go to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office at 360-385-9180.
Scene release means the police, and the coroner if involved, have finished and tell you that you may go back in. Once it is released, sooner is better, because contamination can soak deeper into materials over time. Until a company arrives:
- Do not clean, scrub or wipe anything.
- Do not throw belongings away; your insurer may want to see them.
- Keep children and pets out of the affected area.
What to expect from the company you hire
Cleanup workers wear protective equipment such as gloves, suits and respirators. Ask how the company will set up containment, meaning sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread. Affected porous materials are cut out and removed, and hard surfaces are disinfected, meaning treated with products that kill germs. Odor is treated only after its source is gone, as odor remediation in Port Townsend explains.
Removed materials may be biomedical waste, a legal category in Washington limited to listed types such as discarded human blood and sharps waste. Sharps waste means items such as needles, syringes, scalpel blades and lancets. State rules for companies that collect and haul biomedical waste require an operating plan that keeps it separate from other solid waste until treatment or disposal, so ask who will haul it and how.
Ask for a written scope before work starts, and for photos, a list of what was removed, and disposal records afterward. Your insurer may ask for them.
Checking a company yourself
Ask any company how its work follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard2, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup from the IICRC, the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a non-profit for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. Then look the business up with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries3 (L&I) tool Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business3, and read Biohazard Cleanup Certifications Explained before you decide.
After a death by suicide
If your loved one died by suicide, you do not need to go back into the affected area. The funeral home you choose cares for your loved one; the cleanup company cares for the home. Ask whether you can let the crew in and leave, or have a friend do it. Ask them to set aside photos, papers and personal items and to check with you before removing anything. If privacy matters, ask about unmarked vehicles.
For property managers and employers
After an accident at a rental or workplace, close off the area and keep tenants, staff and customers away until the work is done. Do not ask employees to clean it. Afterward, ask the company for written records of the areas treated, what was removed and how waste was handled.
Does insurance cover it?
Sometimes, depending on the policy. Before work begins, ask your agent whether the loss is covered; the Office of the Insurance Commissioner4 (OIC) says you can ask without filing a claim. If a crime caused the loss, the OIC advises keeping a copy of the police report. Homeowners also have the right to choose their own contractor for covered repairs, and the OIC warns that signing a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights.
A landlord’s policy does not cover a renter’s personal property, so renters should call their own insurer and ask what to do with contaminated belongings.
Usually covered: Homeowner insurance protects your home and belongings from damage caused by specific risks, says the Insurance Commissioner’s page on how home insurance works. Insurance companies can’t deny your claim if a covered loss is due to domestic abuse and you didn’t help cause the loss; if you file a claim for a property loss, you’ll also need to file a police report, says the Commissioner’s page on domestic abuse and insurance.
Usually not covered: A policy may exclude losses caused by intentional or fraudulent acts of anyone it insures, under RCW 48.18.550.
Ask your insurer: “What does my policy cover for cleanup after a crime, a serious injury or a suicide in my home, and do any exclusions apply?” Source: Filing a homeowner insurance claim (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)4
Crime Victims Compensation Program
The Crime Victims Compensation Program5, part of L&I5, lists crime scene cleanup among the things it does not pay for, so plan on insurance or paying the company directly. It may still help with mental health treatment, grief counseling, medical and dental treatment, or funeral expenses. To qualify, a gross misdemeanor or felony in Washington must have physically injured or mentally traumatized the person, and the crime must have been reported to law enforcement with cooperation in the investigation, so keep the police report. Claim your own insurance first; the program calls itself the payer of last resort.
Port Townsend and Jefferson County
Port Townsend is an incorporated city and the county seat. For permits on any rebuilding after materials are removed, ask the city’s Planning and Community Development Department (PCD), which has Planning, Building and Code Compliance divisions. Jefferson County Public Health, at 360-385-9400, has programs including Home Syringe Disposal and a Solid Waste Program. If the company you hire crosses the Hood Canal Bridge, ask how that affects arrival: the bridge closes to road traffic whenever it opens for passing vessels, and when it is out of service, the detour through Shelton via SR 3 and US 101 adds about three hours.
Who to call first
In an emergency, call 911.These official offices may be part of the first steps. They are government pages, not ours.
- Jefferson County Public Health (opens in a new tab)For local health questions, such as a home that was used as a drug lab.
- Washington Crime Victims Compensation Program (L&I) (opens in a new tab)If a crime happened, it may help with some costs, such as funeral expenses. It doesn't pay for cleanup.
- Verify a contractor (L&I lookup) (opens in a new tab)Look up whether a company is a registered contractor before work starts.
- Washington State Department of Health (opens in a new tab)State health rules, such as for drug lab cleanup and hantavirus.