After a crime, a serious injury or a death by suicide in Tacoma, an independent trauma scene cleanup company does the cleanup, not the police or the county. Cleanup can start once police, and the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1 if someone died, have released the property. Biohazard Network can connect you with an independent local company that you hire directly; this site does not do the work.
This is a hard moment, and you do not have to face it alone. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, confidential emotional support, and you can call, text or chat with a counselor anytime, day or night. Its counselors can also support someone who is worried about a loved one.
What crime and trauma scene cleanup involves
This work covers what is left after an assault, a homicide, a break-in where someone was hurt, a serious accident, or a death by suicide. The concern is biohazards, meaning blood and other body fluids that can carry germs. Ordinary cleaning is not enough, because fluids soak into porous materials, which are absorbent things like carpet, padding, drywall and upholstery. 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 anything.
Who controls the scene first
Police control a crime scene until they release it. Scene release means investigators tell you they are finished and the property is back in your hands. If someone died, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office1 is also involved. A medical examiner is the county office that determines the cause and manner of death; this one investigates deaths in Pierce County that are under its jurisdiction and of concern to public health, safety and welfare. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office can be reached at (253) 798-6494. Neither the police nor the county cleans the property afterward.
Until release, stay out of the affected area. After release, do not clean, move or throw away anything there, because your insurer may want to inspect damaged items.
After a death by suicide
If someone you love died by suicide, the cleanup company can take the hardest practical task off your shoulders, and you do not need to go into the affected area. 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, so choosing a funeral home is an early step. If privacy matters, ask a company before hiring it how it handles discretion, such as whether its vehicles are marked.
What to expect from the company you hire
The crew wears protective equipment such as gloves, suits and masks. It sets up containment, which means closing off the work area so contamination does not spread. It removes affected porous materials, then carries out disinfection, which means applying products that kill germs on the surfaces that remain. Odor work comes after the source is gone, as the page on odor remediation in Tacoma explains.
Material with blood on it can count as biomedical waste, which Washington law defines to include discarded human blood and materials containing free-flowing blood. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Infectious Waste Management program permits and inspects businesses that generate, transport or treat infectious waste, so ask the company who will haul and treat its waste. If you see sharps, meaning needles or other items that can pierce skin, leave them for the company; the Health Department also has a Safely Remove Discarded Sharps brochure. When the job is done, ask for written records and photos showing what was removed and how waste was handled.
Before hiring, you can ask whether a company’s workers are trained under OSHA’s standard on bloodborne pathogens (germs carried in blood), 29 CFR 1910.10302, and whether it follows the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup from the IICRC, a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. You can also look the business up in the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries3 (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business3, and the certifications guide explains each of these.
For property managers and employers
After an accident in an apartment building, a store or a workplace, keep tenants, staff and the public away from the area until the company has finished. Afterward, ask for the company’s written records and keep them with your incident file. Tacoma is an incorporated city, so permit and code questions go to Planning and Development Services, whose Regulatory Compliance division works for a safe, clean, livable environment for residents through its Permit Compliance and Code Compliance parts.
Does insurance cover crime scene cleanup?
Homeowners insurance sometimes covers this work, depending on the policy. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner4 (OIC) says you can ask your agent or company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim. If the loss came from a crime, the OIC says to notify police and keep a copy of the report. Homeowners 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, so read any form before you sign.
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
The Crime Victims Compensation Program
L&I5’s Crime Victims Compensation Program5 does not pay for crime scene cleanup; L&I lists it among costs the program does not cover. The program may still help with other costs, including medical and dental treatment, medication, mental health treatment, grief counseling, partial wage loss replacement and funeral expenses. It is for a person physically injured or mentally traumatized by a gross misdemeanor or felony in Washington, and the crime must have been reported to law enforcement with cooperation in the investigation. Because the program calls itself the payer of last resort, paying only after primary insurance, file with your own insurer first.
Reaching a property in Tacoma and Pierce County
If the property is in Gig Harbor, across the Narrows Bridge from Tacoma, say so. On the Pierce County ferry, vehicles must be in position with tickets 20 minutes before departure or may not board, so ask the company to plan for that. The Tacoma city page and the Pierce County page have more on local offices.
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.
- Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (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.