![]() ![]() ![]() Upon release of the scene after an investigation, some police officers make referrals to cleanup companies, a relationship that seems sketchy at best.Īll of which is to say there’s no list of certified companies for a grieving relative in need of services. However, uninformed clients seldom verify these qualifications. While there is no industry license required to operate a crime scene cleanup company, some certifications and state permits are often necessary to conduct certified business like annual OSHA training and a permit to transport medical waste. The bio-recovery business is generally unregulated. However, these laws are not industry-specific and cross over into a variety of professions. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) maintains rules governing how businesses handle blood-borne pathogens, respiratory risks, and working in confined spaces. Since dealing with blood is a part of the job description, crime-scene cleanup is a regulated industry-to a degree. The victim sat in the leather recliner for nearly four weeks before a neighbor complained of a possible gas leak (Courtesy of Scott Vogel/Emergi-Clean Inc). “To think that our jobs do not affect us would be ignoring the science behind plasticity, defined as the way our brain changes in reaction to the world in which we live.” How can a person work in such an emotionally charged situation day after day? “When someone’s job comes with the understanding that they will be exposed to traumatic content, it can help the brain digest what it sees,” says Lindsay Bira, a clinical health psychologist based in San Antonio, Texas. While Morse and Vogel swiftly hedge family questions about what and how, they hesitate when a family member stricken with the guilt after a suicide asks the one question neither can answer: “Why did they do it?” “You can have people who are in shock and baking you cookies, acting like everything is fine, or you get people who are completely emotionally distraught,” he recalls. Spurred by that experience, he started his own bio-recovery business, fueled by his desire to help others in their time of need.īut the family reactions are often more unpredictable than the scene itself. Morse, a former exterminator, had never experienced the level of satisfaction that he received from helping families rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. And more mundane calls, like his wife’s concerns about the new washer/dryer they purchased on Black Friday. A query about an upcoming suicide cleanup. On this early December morning, Vogel receives six calls during the 90-minute drive to the crime scene. He works alongside nine full-time employees and 15 to 18 per diem men. His days are far from routine since his work is emergency-based. Vogel is on call 24/7 and has about 500 jobs a year. ![]() But while many films such as Sunshine Cleaning and Cleaner paint the new, highly competitive industry to be a simple source of income, the business of cleaning up after death requires much more than rubber gloves and Lysol. Today, hundreds of independent companies have multiplied across the country. While he no longer drives a vehicle emblazoned with a cartoon blood drop named Bloodsie, Vogel still sports a Bloodsie logo on his black windbreaker and hangs the same decal on his Traverse’s rear view mirror.Ī few decades ago, crime scene cleanup businesses like Vogel’s were nearly nonexistent. “She didn’t want me dropping off my daughter at daycare with a big blood drop on my car,” he says with a shrug. He brags about his new black Chevy Traverse that his wife begged him to buy to replace his old pick-up, which was basically a billboard for Emergi-Clean. Vogel speaks quickly and is never at a loss for words-not even at 6 am. After working an unfulfilling government job, Vogel took over his father’s business in 2010. His dad’s initial hesitancy about his son joining the family business led Vogel to pursue a masters in Criminal Research from the University of Central Florida. Vogel was drawn to helping others and became an EMT himself at age 16. The bio-recovery business was started by his father, Ronald, who saw a need for a professional biohazard company while serving as a volunteer EMT in New Jersey. Vogel’s family-first attitude governs his work life as well. On the road to the job site, he shows me a video of his three-year-old daughter, talks about his love of college football (he’s a UCF Knights fan), and cracks jokes about his family’s unique business-“It’s like Duck Dynasty…with blood!” With his rosy cheeks and an infectious smile, Vogel seems like the type of father who sits front row in the bleachers at every one of his daughter’s soccer games. This business sometimes requires a cold disposition and a strong stomach, but Vogel has only one of the two. ![]()
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