Crime and Trauma Scene Cleanup in Marysville, WA

After a crime, a serious injury or a death by suicide in Marysville, the cleanup is done by an independent crime and trauma scene cleanup company that the family or property owner hires directly. Biohazard Network does not do this work; we can connect you with an independent local company so you do not have to see or handle anything yourself.

If someone you love has died by suicide, or you are struggling after what happened, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, confidential support. You can call, text or chat with a counselor anytime, day or night.

What this cleanup involves

The job is to remove and disinfect biohazards, meaning blood and other body materials that may carry germs. These include bloodborne pathogens, which are disease-causing germs carried in blood, and OPIM, short for “other potentially infectious materials,” the body fluids handled with the same caution as blood. Household cleaning is not enough, because fluids soak into porous materials, which are things like carpet, drywall and mattresses that absorb liquid. Wiping the surface leaves contamination underneath.

What happens first

Police control the scene until their work is done. If someone died, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office¹ may also be involved. A medical examiner is a public official who investigates certain deaths, and this office determines the cause and manner of death of persons who die suddenly, violently, or unexpectedly while in apparent good health. Under RCW 68.50.010, jurisdiction over a body in deaths caused by unnatural or unlawful means, or under suspicious circumstances, is vested in the county coroner or medical examiner. If you have questions, investigators at the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 425-438-6200.

Scene release means investigators have finished and handed the property back to the owner or family. Police and the county do not clean it. Until release:

• Do not clean, move or throw out anything in the affected area.
• Keep children, pets and visitors away.
• Ask the investigator when release is expected.

After a death by suicide

You do not have to handle any part of the cleanup yourself. The funeral home you choose cares for your loved one, and the cleanup company takes care of the property. If it helps, ask one relative to read the medical examiner’s Information Guide for Families, which answers common questions about next steps. If you look at the office’s Biohazard Cleanup Services list, know that the office calls it convenience only and not comprehensive, and says being on or off it is neither endorsement nor disapproval. When you call a company, ask plainly about discretion, such as whether its vehicles are marked and who will come to the home.

For property managers and employers

A serious accident at a rental or workplace needs the same care, even when no crime happened. Close off the area and keep tenants, staff and customers out until the work is done. Afterward, ask the company for written records of what was removed, what was disinfected and how waste was handled.

What to expect from the company you hire

Ask the company to explain each step before it starts:

• Protective equipment, such as gloves, suits and eye protection.
• Containment, which means sealing off the work area so contamination does not spread.
• Removal of affected porous materials.
• Disinfection, which means applying products that kill germs on the hard surfaces that stay.
• Odor work after the source is removed; see odor remediation in Marysville.
• Waste disposal. Biomedical waste is a legal category in Washington limited to listed types, including human blood and blood products and sharps waste, such as needles, syringes and scalpel blades. Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission rules require a company that collects, transports and disposes of biomedical waste to keep an operating plan that holds it separate from other solid waste until treatment or disposal. Ask who will haul it.
• Records, such as photos, a written scope and disposal paperwork for your insurer.

Before you sign, ask how the company follows OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard², 29 CFR 1910.1030, and the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup, published by the IICRC, a non-profit organization for the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. Then look the business up in the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, and read how these checks work.

Does insurance cover it?

It may, and the way to find out is to ask. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner³ (OIC) tells homeowners to understand what their policy does and doesn’t cover, and it says you can ask your agent or company whether a loss is covered without filing a claim. If a crime caused the damage, the OIC says to notify police and keep a copy of the report; keep the cleanup company’s records with it.

While you read your policy, look for the additional limited coverage for debris removal that the OIC⁴ says a homeowner policy generally includes. If the family must stay elsewhere during repairs, ask about loss of use coverage, which pays those extra living costs. You have the right to choose your own contractor for covered repairs, and before you sign a contractor’s assignment of benefit form, remember the OIC warns it could affect your rights.

Do not count on the state crime victims program for the cleanup bill. The Crime Victims Compensation Program⁵ of L&I⁵ lists crime scene cleanup under what it does not pay for. It can still help your family in other ways, since it may pay for mental health treatment, grief counseling and funeral expenses. To qualify, a person must have been 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. The program calls itself the payer of last resort and pays only after primary insurance, so start with your own insurer.

Marysville and Snohomish County details

Marysville is an incorporated city, so if cleanup means removing drywall or flooring, repairs may involve the city’s Building Services (Community Development), which reviews and inspects plans and structures for compliance with city code. Building permit applications go through the city’s Permit Portal; ask your repair contractor whether one applies. The same steps hold for a home or a business in Downtown Marysville, the core next to I-5 that starts at the waterfront on Ebey Slough, or near the city-owned Marysville Opera House.

Ask where a company is based and what route it will take; in the county, SR 522 between Paradise Lake Road in Maltby and the Snohomish River is still one lane in each direction. For waste questions, the Snohomish County Health Department at 425-339-5200 lists Garbage & Waste and Hazardous Waste among its programs. More local guidance is on the Marysville page and the Snohomish County page.

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