Who Cleans Up After a Crime Scene or Death? | Spaulding Decon CEO on Tampa Bay's Morning Blend

Duration: 4:17 962 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

After a death, crime scene, or biohazard event occurs, it is often assumed that emergency services like police, fire departments, or EMS will handle the cleanup; however, this is not the case as these agencies do not perform sanitation duties for private residences. Consequently, families are frequently left to manage an extraordinarily difficult and traumatic situation while grieving their loss, which can lead to panic and paralysis when facing a hazardous mess they cannot safely clean themselves. This is where Spaulding Decon steps in to provide essential assistance, offering specialized teams that understand the delicate nature of these scenarios and ensuring that affected families do not have to face such distressing environments alone during their most vulnerable moments. The core philosophy behind effective cleanup services involves deploying a compassionate team capable of navigating complex emotional landscapes, where individuals may be experiencing intense grief, anger, or shock rather than directing hostility at responders. Success in these situations relies heavily on empathy and the ability to meet people exactly where they are emotionally, whether that means simply being present for someone who is crying or helping them regain a sense of control over their environment. By approaching each case with sensitivity and tailoring the process to the specific needs of the individual, professionals can help families move forward without feeling judged, ensuring that the cleanup respects both the severity of the incident and the personal feelings involved. Beyond acute crisis situations involving death or crime, Spaulding Decon also addresses issues related to hoarding and severe clutter that have become unmanageable for homeowners who may feel ashamed or fear social stigma from neighbors and family members. These cases require a flexible approach where teams can adjust their speed based on the client's emotional readiness, whether they are ready to discard items immediately or need time to sort through sentimental objects carefully. The goal is always to restore the home to its function as a living space while helping individuals overcome feelings of shame and regain control over their environment without exposing them to unnecessary embarrassment or judgment from others in their community. Ultimately, recognizing that no one can predict when they might find themselves facing such challenges highlights the importance of having trusted partners available during difficult times for both families dealing with tragedy and those struggling with clutter issues. The interview emphasizes that while emergency responders save lives on scene, specialized decontamination experts are necessary to ensure safety and healing in the aftermath, bridging the gap between immediate crisis response and long-term recovery. By sharing contact information and raising awareness about these critical services, organizations like Spaulding Decon aim to support communities effectively, ensuring that every family has access to professional help when they need it most without having to navigate a confusing or frightening process alone.

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Okay, this may be shocking, even disturbing to find out, but after there's been a death or a crime, even a biohazard event, it won't be the police, fire, or EMS doing the cleanup. That's actually left for the families, and that can be extraordinarily difficult if the family is trying to process one of these tragedies. Well, that is where Spaulding Decon comes in to help in these types of situations, and we are now joined by their CEO today, Katie Wilson. Katie, I've already been talking your ear off today. Welcome to the show. How are you? >> I'm great. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. >> People don't think about this. >> No. >> Until you are in the situation, and then you're like, "Wait a second. EMS, fire, it's it's a mess here. Police, it's a mess." >> It is, and the panic sets in, and you don't know what to do, and the next steps, you kind of freeze. >> And so, when you were able to start down this process, helping people kind of get through this, and having the right team is something that you and I were just talking about, because it can be a delicate situation, right? >> It is really delicate, and people are going to handle it in any different way, too. So, grief hits you sometimes. You're going through the loss, and so you have to deal with everything. Um and so, having the right person and the right team to help you figure out the next steps is really what you're looking for. And so, making sure you have a compassionate team, if you don't have compassion in here, you're got you're not going to get anywhere. And so, how do you talk to people? Some people are going to be at a really high level, um whether that be crying, you know, anger. There's a lot of that in there, and it's not at you. It's the situation, so you just have to take that and do the best for the family. >> And it sounds like you are pretty proud of the team that you were able to put together, that come into homes after these situations. >> Yeah, we did um we have one employee that we have in then my team that we brought in as well, too, and they've just been really great to make sure to meet that person on the same level or below, to say, "Hey, we're here." Sometimes that's all they need. >> Yeah. >> Just somebody that's there. >> And I'm so, I mean, I just even sitting here talking, you never know when you're going to find yourself in a situation like this. So, I'm glad we're talking about it. The other side of things, I I it's interesting that I didn't really think about. There are people out there who find themselves with too much stuff. Maybe they don't want to identify as a hoarder, but that term is thrown around. That's also where you can help. Explain that. >> Yeah, so a lot of times and things can it can start from some clutter and then just kind of get out of control. You can close the door on a room and you cannot look at it. But, the fact of the matter is is you want your home and you want your home functioning as a home. Um or your family members might see it. You might be ashamed of it. There's a lot of differing emotions that come with that. And so, the nice part about reaching out and getting some help for that is that we'll have our team come in and go as slow or as fast as you need. If you have just I don't care anymore, I don't want it, we can get rid of things or if you're like, I need to go through things. There are some sentimental things in here. Um it's really different. Every person's different. Um and you have to approach it completely specific to that individual and say, "Okay, here is our next steps." And explaining the entire process to them is actually what they need to know cuz they they feel out of control and that gives them some control of the situation that you're helping with, too. >> So many times, again, it's interesting because you're dealing with so many unique situations with personalities. And so many people that I read you encounter a lot of time they're in the hoarding situation. They don't want friends to know. They don't want, you know, maybe family. They don't want neighbors to be aware of this. It's another delicate situation you and your team have to handle. >> It is. And so, from there, you know, you have different staging areas. You have to make sure is that the garage? Is that, you know, here and there? Sometimes families are involved and they the families feel bad. They don't want to put that out there that they let that family member get to that point and that family member has There's a lot of high high emotions that you just have to get through Um and just be there like half the time was just being there. Well, I got to say I'm thankful to now know because you never know what kind of situation when you may need Spalding Decon and now I've learned that you are [music] out there. We want to make sure and share the contact information your trusted partner in difficult times and again we only addressed a few of them. [music] If you want to learn more there's the website and phone number.