By NNT Featured Publications- August 2, 2011
The State of Florida licenses crime scene cleanup companies. Unfortunately, the average consumer may think this means they can trust any company with a state issued license as it implies the state recognizes those companies to be professional in their field. That supposition couldn’t be further from the truth. This is placing Florida (FL) families in danger from improper cleanup of crime, trauma, suicide, accidents and other death incidents involving blood or bodily fluid clean up.
The Florida Department of Health ( FL DOH ), whether in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando or any other city does not in any way shape or form verify the training, knowledge or professionalism in the rendering of crime scene cleanup services of the companies they license. All having these licenses mean is that the company transports, stores and disposes of medical waste from suicide, trauma, unattended death, accident and other biohazard cleanup in an approved manner; that’s it, nothing more and nothing less.
Further, because the license is so easy to get and implies that a crime cleanup company is professional, many companies have entered the field without having any type of professional training, experience, insurances, equipment, etc. This may cause the public to assume these companies know what they are doing, paying them as if they were a professional company. In order to protect yourself, when you look for crime scene cleanup services, please keep the following ideas in mind.
Price is what a consumer tends to focus upon and this is valid, if, they are pricing apples to apples. Due to lack of experience with the industry, many consumers skip this comparison and focus only on price. You can buy a fast food burger for $1.00. You can also buy a sit down restaurant chain burger for $8-10.00. You can buy a gourmet burger for $15.00. Now, I am not saying you have to pay gourmet prices but do FL residents really want or deserve fast food quality for blood cleaning when you are talking about the safety of your employees, tenants, clients, children and yourself?
Make sure the company you chose has professional trauma scene clean up training, lots of experience, safety briefing meeting logs, employee handbooks, corporate resumes, “Codes of Safe Practices”, recommendations from high profile clients, etc. The two italicized ones are the hardest to exaggerate or fake and should be quickly provided when you request them. Don’t just take their word for it. Ask for proof.
Why be so diligent? ALL of these companies say they are OSHA and EPA certified. That’s nonsense. Neither of those agencies certifies the crime and trauma scene cleanup industry, they only regulate certain aspects of it. Companies with fewer than 10 employees are not required to be OSHA compliant. Protect yourself! Shop quality then price when looking for a crime or suicide scene cleanup company.
