Hats Off To Crime Scene Cleaners

Few days back, I witnessed a near fatal accident that happened right in front of my eyes. A truck rammed into a bike and grievously injured the couple riding the bike. It was a devastating sight. Honestly I couldn’t even sleep peacefully for so many nights after that.

After the police arrived and the injured were taken away in ambulance, the site of the accident remained a gory reminder of what had just happened, with a twisted bike, a dented truck, shards of glass, streaking oil and patches of blood scattered all around. I was still in my car some distance away, too shocked to start driving when I noticed some cleaners arrive and start cleaning up the site. They were carrying with them sophisticated equipments. Watching those cleaners cleaning the site reminded me of my neighbor. You might think what connection is there between the two is.

Well it happened a year back that one of my neighbors, Mark caught a deadly disease from the scene where some crime had taken place. Pools of blood and other remains at the site had not been cleaned properly by the professionals. He used to cross that place while commuting to work and soon fell seriously ill. The doctor later told us that Mark had probably caught a deadly virus from the blood scattered all over at that site. We were quite taken aback because such a possibility had not occurred to us before.

That was the time when I realized the importance of crime scene cleaners. At the crime scene, there are bodily fluids to deal with, each tiny drop carrying germs and possibly infectious diseases. Any blood or tissue at a crime scene is a potential source of infection. If these fluids remain at the site, they can lead to mold, bacteria and fungus, which can cause sickness months or years later.

Now if you think a mere sweeper is sufficient for the job; then you are absolutely wrong. Not just anybody can clean up a site like this or be involved with work involving possible exposure infectious substances present there. It requires trained professionals. Imagine the cleaner has to handle the blood, the damaged remains of the accident and other stuff and also deal with the stench which would make anybody throw up.

Companies which specialize in dry ice blasting and hazardous waste disposal services also provide crime scene clean up services.

I have truly developed a great respect for these crime scene cleaning people. It requires a great deal of mental and emotional strength to do this job. Its a hazardous job no doubt but more importantly, you need to be strong and sensitive enough to handle the situation with care.