Crime and Trauma Scene Cleanup in Puyallup, WA

After a crime, a serious injury or a death by suicide in Puyallup, an independent crime and trauma scene cleanup company does the cleaning; police and the county do not. Cleanup can start once police and, if someone died, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office¹ have released the scene. Biohazard Network connects you with an independent local company that you hire directly; we do not do the work.

Something very hard has just happened, and you do not have to sort it all out at once. If the loss was a death by suicide, or anyone in your family is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, confidential emotional support by call, text or chat, any time of day or night.

What this cleanup involves

This service covers cleanup after an assault, a homicide, a break-in where someone was hurt, a serious accident, or a death by suicide. Crime and trauma scene cleaners are independent companies that remove and disinfect what was left behind, so the family does not have to see or handle any of it. The work deals with biohazards, meaning biological material such as blood that can carry germs and make people sick.

Ordinary cleaning is not enough. Fluids can soak into porous materials, meaning materials that absorb liquid, such as carpet, drywall and upholstery, so a surface can look clean while contamination remains below. Household products also may not disinfect, which means killing germs rather than only making a surface look clean.

Who controls the scene first

Police control the property first. If someone died, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office¹, the county office that determines the cause and manner of death, investigates deaths under its jurisdiction. Under RCW 68.50.010, those include any death caused by violence, whether self-induced or otherwise.

Scene release means investigators have finished and the property is back in your hands. Neither police nor the medical examiner’s office cleans afterward. Until release, do not clean, move or throw away anything, and ask an officer before going in for something you need. Questions about the investigation can go to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office¹ at (253) 798-6494. If a person died alone and was not found right away, see unattended death cleanup in Puyallup.

After a death by suicide

The family should not have to see or clean any of what was left behind. Choosing a funeral home is an early step, because the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office¹ releases the person’s personal property, other than money, to the funeral home the legal next of kin chooses. The cleanup company can take the rest off your shoulders while you stay elsewhere. If privacy matters to you, ask before you hire whether the company uses unmarked vehicles and how its crew answers neighbors’ questions.

What to expect from the company you hire

The crew should wear personal protective equipment, such as gloves, suits and respirators. They set up containment, meaning they seal off the work area with plastic sheeting so contamination does not spread. Affected porous materials are removed, and remaining surfaces are cleaned and disinfected. Odor is treated after its source is gone; see odor remediation in Puyallup. Smaller spills are covered under blood and bodily fluid cleanup in Puyallup.

Removed materials may be biomedical waste, which Washington law limits to a set list of types, including discarded human blood, materials containing free-flowing blood, and sharps waste such as used needles. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Infectious Waste Management program permits and inspects businesses that generate, transport or treat infectious waste, so ask who hauls and treats what the company removes. Ask, too, for a written scope, photos, and a list of what was removed and disinfected for your insurer. If walls or floors need rebuilding, see how biohazard cleanup fits with restoration.

Before you hire, ask the 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, which comes from the IICRC, the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a non-profit for the cleaning and restoration industries. Then look the business up yourself with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries³ (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business³, and read what these checks mean before you decide.

For property managers and employers

If someone was hurt at a rental, a shop or a workplace, close off the area and keep tenants, staff and customers away until the company has finished. Do not ask an employee or maintenance worker to handle it. Afterward, ask for written records of what was removed, how it was disposed of and what was disinfected, and keep them with your incident file.

Does insurance or crime victims compensation pay?

Homeowners insurance sometimes covers this work, but policies differ. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner⁴ (OIC) says you can ask your agent or company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim, so that call is a low-pressure first step. If a crime caused the damage, keep a copy of the police report, as the OIC advises. Read any paperwork before you sign, because the OIC warns that a contractor’s assignment of benefit form could affect your rights. Renters should know that a landlord’s policy does not cover a renter’s personal property, according to the OIC.

You may also hear about the Crime Victims Compensation Program⁵ of L&I⁵. L&I lists crime scene cleanup among the things it does not pay for, so plan to cover cleanup through insurance or directly. The program may help with other costs, such as grief counseling, mental health treatment and funeral expenses, but only after primary insurance. To qualify, a person must have been physically injured or mentally traumatized by a gross misdemeanor or felony in Washington that was reported to law enforcement, with cooperation in the investigation.

Puyallup and Pierce County details

This page covers properties in Puyallup, home of the Washington State Fair Event Center and the Puyallup Riverwalk Trail along the Puyallup River. Because Puyallup is an incorporated city, code complaints go to the city’s Development & Permitting Services, which includes a Code Enforcement division, and Puyallup Building Services handles building code violations if repairs follow.

When you call companies, ask where the crew is coming from. A crew based in Gig Harbor, across the Narrows Bridge from Tacoma, or returning on the Pierce County ferry, where vehicles must be in position with tickets 20 minutes before departure, may need extra travel time. Once the scene is released, sooner is better, because fluids keep soaking into materials.

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