tamaith Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Hello, does anyone know about the crime scene clean up biz? I am currently looking up info about it online, but as we all know the internet is like a bathroom wall anyone can write anything. I was wonder if anyone knew somebody in this industry, and if so what does he/she say about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akflightmedic Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Yes, I researched it myself several years ago. Insurance companies and private pay mostly. You may be able to get a department, city or county to pay sometimes as well but do not count on it. So minus the already difficult part of floating your business while waiting for payments there are lots of start up costs and regulations which must be abided. You are dealing with BIO HAZARDS, so you will need special training, special suits, respirators and special disposal techniques. You also need the ability to transport these things after properly containing them. You have to pay another company well to receive all your cleanup material. Record keeping is also very important. You need the ability to tear up entire carpets, cut out walls, pull up flooring. This means you leave the house in disarray for the survivors as well so you may wish to liaise with a general construction company. If you can not clean it, it must be removed. All in all, this career has morphed into one of those "earn money reading books at home" type jobs because the internet can reach mass audiences and create a demand for this field. When in reality this business has massive start up costs, stringent OSHA regulations and compensation is a pain in the butt to receive. This would be why most private owned places simply do it themselves and the less said the better. Notice I said private owned which means houses, buildings, apartments,etc. There is no law or requirement that they have to hire anyone who follows these rules in order to make the place available for lease again. The other option is simply going to work for someone who already does it, there are also several larger companies that will allow you to franchise out from under them. This is a great way to save money but in the end, are you working for yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireflymedic Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Are you looking to establish a business for yourself providing this service or to be employed within ? They did a feature some time ago on one of the channels A and E I believe that followed a guy that provided this service within New York I think it was. Was interesting to watch. Not something I'd care to do, but a valuable service to families, and more comprehensive and safer (plus saving the emotional heartache) of having the family clean it or a commercial service such as Servpro which is commonly used in this area (I cant speak for other areas). I would say there is a growing need for services such as this. The one thing I recall the guy saying was the most difficult was that he couldn't get police to refer his services, so he would either just scanner chase and show up and as politely as possible approach the family after the crime scene people left (such as suicide or murder scenes in multi person homes) or he would just leave his cards and things on nailed doors and hope for a call (single person apartments etc). Valuable service no doubt and could see a potential there for good business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamaith Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 i was looking into to work within to start and see how it goes maybe even just do it on the side if possible. i found an online course for 295.00 i know i know online booooo , no good. its from a guy named michael tillman and his comp is called amdecon. http://www.amdecon.com/trainingcourse.html the way i see it is this , most courses cost up to 2000 so if i take his course and like it i can always go to a real life course , if i don't im only out 295 not 2000 still out money but not as much. i checked with the better business bureau and the company recieved an A but they are not reg with the bbb ( don't understand) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 (edited) I saw the A&E show you're talking about. The guy was barely scraping by, often doing it at cost just to get a job. Hard to convince people to pay what it's worth when they can just do it themselves, and nobody will say a thing about it. Even the apartment complexes were just having the maintenance men do it. Really nice neighbourhoods and hotels is about the only sure thing, it seems. And there's not a lot of bloody murders in those places everyday. Unless there is some enforced government mandate to use this, it's going to be dog-eat-dog to keep a business going, it looks like. Edited December 2, 2009 by Dustdevil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireflymedic Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 I saw the A&E show you're talking about. The guy was barely scraping by, often doing it at cost just to get a job. Hard to convince people to pay what it's worth when they can just do it themselves, and nobody will say a thing about it. Even the apartment complexes were just having the maintenance men do it. Really nice neighbourhoods and hotels is about the only sure thing, it seems. And there's not a lot of bloody murders in those places everyday. Unless there is some enforced government mandate to use this, it's going to be dog-eat-dog to keep a business going, it looks like. I am aware the guy had a tough time making ends meet with it, but it did do a pretty good job of showing what the job entailed and things to do it at the level he was choosing to as far as cleanup. Basically a dirty jobs edition of A and E from what I saw of it. Interesting to say the least and gave insight into a world I'd not given much thought to. You do make a good point there dust - government contracts (hard to get but pay well) are your most likely sure thing or expensive neighborhoods where jobs will be few and far between. However though, I'm wondering if he expanded out into like flood restoration and things in addition to it if he would get better business - basically become servepro on steroids. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Yeah, I been wondering if Servpro or any other such service is expanding into this. They are independently owned and operated, so I would imagine they have the freedom to do so if they want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubanurse Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Watch Sunshine Cleaning with Amy Adams... You'll learn everything you need to know...seriously...no not really but it was a good movie about the clean up business and about going through the hoops and how tough it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B the EMT Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 As usual, pulling the top one from a cold Google search, I found the following company, whith whom I have not had contact, and know nothing about... http://www.advancedbio-treatment.com/crime-scene-cleanup.php?gclid=CP-LxInquJ4CFag65Qod1SAj8w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crotchitymedic1986 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I have heard of several of these companies, and saw a show on TV that highlighted one, but not sure if it was the A&E show that people referenced. From what I can tell, it would be very difficult to be profitable, as it did require more work than I envisioned. As mentioned, you have to be capable of removing whole sections of carpet and drywall while in a hazmat suit, and then replacing it. Then you have to find some place that will accept the hazards you removed (the local landfill apparently isnt thrilled about accepting your king size, blood soaked, mattress). I have no idea what they do to get the smells out of some of these dwellings. Although I can see the demand, I am not sure the typical homeowner could afford such a service, and I doubt the manager at your local hotel would be willing to spend that kind of money or file an insurance claim when he could just get the maintenance man/maid staff to do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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