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Death Scene Cleanup in Asheville, NC

“Man Roasted Alive in Sauna Accident”

To be closer to his children and grandchildren, the 68-year-old retired teacher had moved from San Diego, California to the beautiful mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, where he purchased a condominium. He was just about to celebrate his 69th birthday and 50th wedding anniversary. Late one cold November night, he left a note on the refrigerator telling his wife, who was his childhood sweetheart, that he had gone to the sauna in their condominium complex. He went to the sauna several times a week, so he was acclimated to the heat, and he had recently undergone a stress test, which indicated his heart was in good shape.

He enjoyed relaxing in the sauna, especially on chilly Asheville nights, because it helped relieve the painful symptoms of his neuropathy. There was absolutely no reason for concern—until this man failed to return home after three hours. This trip to the sauna would be anything but relaxing. It would end in a gruesome, unimaginable accident.

Bodily Fluid & Blood Cleanup

We were hired by the condominium’s management company for blood clean up services and to decontaminate the neighborhood sauna where, just days before, this man had literally and slowly roasted to death. When we arrived and entered the sauna, there were chunks of charred skin and dried blood on the floor. The bench where the victim had died curled up in a fetal position was covered in dried blood, and chunks of skin were stuck to its surface. It was a horrific death scene cleanup.

We learned that when the victim didn’t return home after three hours, his wife grew very concerned and woke their teenage granddaughter, who was spending the weekend with them. She jumped out of bed and immediately searched the condominium and, when she could not find her grandfather, headed to the sauna in the men’s locker room on the complex grounds. The first thing she noticed was the inordinately hot door of the sauna. When she entered the sauna, the room was so intensely hot that she could not breathe and had to exit in order to call 911. Neither the granddaughter nor the wife of the victim recognized his body at first. Both women described the victim as being “charred” with an unrecognizable face. The granddaughter, the first to discover the victim, described pools of blood on the bench and floor of the sauna and stated that she could not get the image or smell out of her mind. She initially thought the man was someone else and didn’t realize it was her grandfather until, horrified, she saw his clothes hanging on a locker-room hook.

The local Asheville, North Carolina police now know that the sauna’s timer switch malfunctioned, allowing the sauna to reach roasting-level heat. The medical examiner who did the autopsy announced that the cause of death, which was initially considered a “natural occurrence,” was a heart attack, which could have been heat-induced. The heart attack most likely prevented the victim from responding to the dangerously high heat by getting up and leaving.

Bio-Hazardous Blood Cleanup

Advanced Bio Treatment was able to decontaminate the accident scene and remove surface blood, skin, and bodily fluid. The blood had soaked deeply into the soft wood typically used in the construction of saunas. The wood, designed to absorb and slowly release heat and humidity, absorbs blood and all its pathogens just as efficiently. And the heat in a sauna, together with the small gaps and crevices, increases the dangers of bio-hazardous blood and other bodily fluids. Therefore, some of the flooring and the entire bench had to be replaced to ensure the safety of future occupants.

Unfortunately, the victim’s family was not spared the gruesome sight of their loved one’s remains in the sauna, but the property owners made a very wise and ethical decision when they called Advanced Bio Treatment to make certain the sauna was restored to a completely safe environment for their occupants. The trained technicians at Advanced Bio Treatment were able to restore the sauna to a healthy and beautiful state.

Advanced Bio Treatment was able to spare other residents of this peaceful, mountainous condominium complex any reminders of the accident that took place there and spare future occupants of this sauna those same reminders. If an accidental death occurs on a property you own or occupy, call ABT to decontaminate the death scene for you. If you have questions about death scene cleaning that involves blood or other bodily fluids, do not hesitate to call Advanced Bio Treatment at 800-295-1684.

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Ted Pelot Owner & President of Crime Scene Cleanup Company - Advanced Bio-Treatment