Biohazard cleanup in Belfair is done by independent private companies that the family, landlord or property manager hires directly. If someone has died or been hurt, the first step is to let police and the Mason County Coroner1 finish their work and release the home before any cleanup starts. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company that serves Belfair; we do not do the cleanup ourselves.
A biohazard is any material, such as blood or other body fluids, that could carry germs harmful to people. This page explains who the local offices are, what to expect first, and which cleanup service fits your situation. For countywide information, see biohazard and trauma cleanup in Mason County.
What happens first in Belfair
The Mason County Coroner
Mason County uses a coroner system. A coroner is the county official who looks into certain deaths and decides how and why they happened. The Mason County Coroner1 determines and certifies the cause and manner of death for unattended deaths, sudden deaths of people who seemed healthy and were not under a doctor’s care, deaths from any unnatural cause, and suspicious or unexplained deaths, among others.
If a death in Belfair falls into one of these groups, the coroner’s work comes before cleanup. Scene release means police or the coroner have finished at the home and hand control back to the family or owner. Ask the officers or the Mason County Coroner1 (360-427-9670 ext 752) when the home has been released, and share that with the company you hire.
You may need records later. Autopsy reports are confidential, but the person’s personal representative, meaning the person handling their estate, and any family member may examine them and get copies. Copies of death certificates come from Mason County Public Health2 and the Washington State Department of Health3 (DOH).
Mason County Public Health and Human Services
The health department2 for Belfair is Mason County Public Health and Human Services (360-427-9670 ext. 869). Two of its programs may matter to you. The Solid Waste Program, part of Environmental Health, takes neighborhood complaints such as bags of garbage gathered outside a home. The On-Site Sewage System Program handles septic complaints and other sewage-related violations.
Belfair is an unincorporated community
Belfair is not an incorporated city, so there is no city hall for building or code questions. Permits and code issues here go to Mason County Community Development. Code compliance there is shared among its Building and Planning staff, and the department addresses reported violations involving building construction, land use, zoning and critical areas. It does not accept complaints by phone. If cleanup leads to repairs, such as replacing flooring or wall sections, ask the company whether a county permit is needed.
Reaching a Belfair property
SR 3 serves as a main street for Belfair and runs past the Mary E. Theler Wetlands and the North Mason (Belfair) branch of Timberland Regional Library. The SR 3 corridor runs from the US 101 junction at Shelton to Belfair and gives a direct route between Mason and Kitsap counties. Between Shelton and Belfair it is mostly a two-lane undivided highway, with turn lanes and signals through both towns.
Two other routes meet SR 3 here. SR 106 runs 21 miles east to west between the community of Skokomish and the SR 3 junction in Belfair. SR 300 links Tahuya and Belfair State Park to Belfair.
This means a company could come from the Kitsap County side, from Shelton, or along SR 106. When you call, give the nearest highway and cross street, and ask which route the crew will take and when it can arrive. If the property is closer to Shelton, see cleanup in Shelton.
Cleanup services in Belfair
Each service below has its own page with more detail.
Unattended death cleanup
An unattended death is one where a person dies alone and is not found right away. Unattended death cleanup covers cleaning and disinfecting the affected rooms after the coroner releases the home. Disinfection means using products that kill germs on surfaces.
Crime and trauma scene cleanup
Crime and trauma scene cleanup is for a home or business after a violent event, a serious injury, or a death by suicide. Work begins only after police release the scene, and you can ask the company how it keeps the work private.
Hoarding cleanup
Hoarding cleanup helps when belongings have built up so a home is hard to live in safely. Ask how the company will include the person living in the home in choosing what to keep and what to let go. Whatever the person lets go must be disposed of legally, and the Solid Waste Program states that owners, operators and occupants are responsible for that.
Blood and bodily fluid cleanup
Blood and bodily fluid cleanup covers smaller incidents, such as a fall or a medical emergency at home. Blood can carry bloodborne pathogens, which are germs in blood that cause disease. OPIM, short for other potentially infectious materials, means other body fluids that can carry those germs.
Odor removal
Odor removal means fixing a problem at its source. Odor removal deals with odors that remain after the main cleanup, often held in porous materials, meaning things like carpet, drywall and wood that soak up liquids. For water, fire or mold damage alongside a biohazard, see how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.
Sewage and biohazard waste cleanup
Sewage and biohazard waste cleanup covers sewage backups and removing hazardous materials such as used needles. Sharps are needles, syringes, blades and similar items that can pierce skin. Washington has one state definition of biomedical waste, which includes discarded human blood and sharps waste. If you find needles at a scene, leave them for the company.
Before you hire
Ask any company you call how its crew follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, a voluntary standard from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), a non-profit for the cleaning and restoration industries. You can also look the business up yourself with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries4 (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business4, and our certifications guide explains what each of these means.
A few other questions help too:
- Will you give me a written estimate before work starts?
- Will you work with my homeowners insurance? Policies sometimes cover this work.
- How will you seal off the work area so contamination does not spread?
- Can you come in an unmarked vehicle?
- What will you remove, and will you check with me first about personal items?
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 works5. Personal property coverage includes your furnishings and personal items, such as your TV, clothing and dishes, the same page says.
Usually not covered: Exclusions in home contracts may include certain events, such as flood or earthquake, says the Insurance Commissioner’s insurance glossary. Standard homeowner policies also do not cover sewer or drain backups, says the Commissioner’s page on being underinsured.
Ask your insurer: “Without filing a claim yet, can you tell me if my policy covers biohazard cleanup in my home, and what limits apply?” Source: Filing a homeowner insurance claim (Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner)