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Bio-Recovery Firm Cleans Up Where Others Won't
Toledo, OH. January 16, 1998: From plane crashes to floods. From homicides to pigeon droppings. A local
company immerses itself in tragedy and unusual circumstances. Bio-Recovery
Services of America has an extremely unique niche in the cleaning and
restoration industries. They are a service that will clean and restore an area
in the home or business that has been affected by the presence of biological or
infectious waste, such as blood, body fluids, and tissue. Services are not limited to just crime and trauma scenes, but
also for natural deaths, animal biohazards, toxic mold remediation,
methamphetamine drug labs and cases of accidents. They provide a
valuable twenty-four hour service that spares family, friends and employees the
burden of cleaning, disinfecting and deodorizing. They also rid the scene of any
unwelcome or unpleasant reminders.
Since 1996, Bio-Recovery Services of America has been helping scores of families and businesses in times of emotional distress.
In 1997, their service was commissioned for
the clean up of the ComAir Flight 3272 disaster in
Monroe County, Michigan. Victims' bodies were taken from the crash
site to an airplane hangar at Custer Airport, which served as
a temporary morgue. The transport trucks, hangar, and airport
offices all had to be disinfected from the contamination and exposure
to bloodborne pathogens. Owner Fred Schutt, volunteered his company's
services to assist with the clean up of the affected area. "We
had just opened for business when the crash occurred, and we thought
that we could help out by volunteering our services. As it turned out
we got the job. Talk about starting
out with a vengeance."
Schutt
began thinking of starting this type of business
after a mutual friend received a call from the Coroner's office one
day wanting to know if she knew anyone who could clean up after
a suicide. After calling the local housecleaning and janitorial
services, they found that none of them would touch it. They were
not equipped to handle biohazards or potentially infectious wastes,
nor did they want to. So, he set out to start a service that would.
So
far business is going very well. "The bulk of the work involves suicides
and belatedly discovered deaths. We have had situations where the bodies
haven't been found for several weeks and cleaned out houses and apartments that have
been declared unfit for human habitation, just to name a few. Several of
our most unusual cases have involved cleaning pigeon droppings (a serious
health threat) out of church bell towers. St. Frances DiSalle Church had
over 100 years of bird history in their tower and we took out 34 bags of
it. It was really quite dangerous from a health standpoint, but we were
equipped for it. Other big jobs were cleaning out the clock tower at the
University of Toledo and an ammunition storage facility for the Department
of Defense."
 
Schutt
and his staff of on-call employees are medically trained and proficient in
infectious waste handling procedures. His
service is licensed with the EPA and they are OSHA compliant. This is not
a routine mop and bucket company. They use state-of-the-art equipment and
only use EPA registered disinfectants that are tuberculocidal, bactericidal,
fungicidal, virucidal, and hepacidal. They are very effective in treating
against dangerous viruses such as HIV-1 (associated with AIDS) and
hepatitis B.
When
asked how he feels about the emotional side
of dealing with crime scenes, such as homicides and suicides,
he replied: "Its difficult. It really is. You have a job
to do professionally, but you also have to be caring and sensitive
to the needs of families and co-workers. I've also had three close friends
who have committed suicide. I know what those families have been through.
When we cleaned the areas
after the plane crash, the bodies had already been removed but
it was still hard to grasp the reality of it. I know the Airport
personnel were upset. They had had a difficult week up there and
they were very appreciative and relieved that a service such as
ours could come in and help out. In cases of violent crime or
suicides, I will even suggest that the family stay with relatives
or friends, or even go to a hotel, while we clean. You really
have to be empathetic to their needs and feelings."
Bio-Recovery Services of America belongs to the American Bio-Recovery
Association. ABRA is a national, non-profit organization designed to promote
education, proficiency and ethical standards for bio-recovery services, such as
those who perform crime and trauma scene disinfection and abatement. ABRA helps
to ensure that consumers receive the best possible service from bio-recovery
companies who have sworn to uphold the highest levels of industry performance.
Bio-Recovery
Services has been featured in The Toledo Blade, The Cincinnati
Post, The Columbus Dispatch, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times,
WTOL Channel 11 WTVG Channel 13 (Toledo), Contracting Profits Magazine, Office.com, The MetroNet,
WSPD Radio (Toledo), the Associated Press
Wire and many radio stations in the U.S. and Canada.
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