Bio-Recovery: The R&R Interview

by Jeffrey Stouffer editor
July 19, 2010

A continually evolving and expanding segment of the remediation industry, bio-recovery – better known as “crime scene cleanup” or “trauma cleaning” – has made great strides since it first came into being as an organized segment of the business almost two decades ago. Recently, R&R spoke with Kent Berg, director of the National Institute of Decontamination Specialists and founder of the American Bio-Recovery Association, to get his take on where the industry stands today and where it’s headed in the future.

Restoration & Remediation: Briefly, what falls under the scope of work when people talk about “bio-recovery”?

Kent Berg: Bio-recovery is actually a term that was derived from the words BioHazard Cleanup and Scene Recovery. We chose that term because our industry’s scope of work is actually much broader than cleaning crime scenes. We are often thought of as the guys that will clean up anything that is nasty, repulsive, or gross, so people naturally call us to clean up human feces, animal feces, dead animals – usually rotten ones – and gross filth, as in rotting food, poor hygiene, and piles and piles of garbage. Then there’s the decomposed human body scenes, meth labs, the occasional disease outbreak, and anything else that would cause a normal person to stay a hundred feet away to keep from puking.

R&R: You’ve been part of the bio-recovery profession pretty much since before it became a profession. Since that time, what are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen, both positive and negative?

KB: When I first started, very few people in this business knew anything about cleaning and disinfecting. They just wanted to make the visible contamination go away. No one in the insurance industry had ever heard of a crime scene cleanup company, and many adjusters argued that our services were not covered. Today, the biggest changes have been in our profile. What I mean by that is the public, who had never heard of our services, now see us in TV shows, documentaries, movies, magazines, and newspaper articles. We have recognition now, and families are more aware that these services exist.

Another change has been in the performance of the cleanup itself. We as an industry are much more aware of the antimicrobials we are using, the techniques and knowledge related to home construction, vehicle dismantling, and being able to actually render a property safe on a microscopic level.

R&R: From a purely objective point of view, bio-recovery would seem to be about as “recession-proof” as any remediation specialty out there. There will always be accidents, suicides and other traumas that require a professional remediator. What are some of the pros and cons that come along with that?

KB: We know that our services will always be needed, but with a higher profile, we are seeing more and more companies starting up, and more and more fire/water restoration companies adding this service to their menus. Although the demand for our services is increasing, the individual companies’ call volumes aren’t growing as fast because there is more competition for that finite number of incidents.

The pros are that the public will have resources to respond if they need them, and that companies will have to step up their game in service quality and marketing. The cons are that the majority of these new companies are not attending training, not getting any type of certification beyond a half-day OSHA bloodborne pathogen course. It’s these companies that are dragging the good companies down when the public hears about a company throwing a bloody mattress in a dumpster, etc.


R&R: Since hindsight is 20/20, if there was one thing you would go back and change, as far as how you operated your business, what is it, and what would you do differently?

KB: I would have marketed harder. I assumed that people would need my service and seek me out. That was true for a while, but when competitors popped up with their marketing programs, the public chose who was freshest in their minds. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but one I will never forget.

R&R: Technologically speaking, what areas have seen the greatest advances? Chemicals? PPE? Containment?

KB: One of the advancements has been our recognition as a legitimate industry. Today, vendors of specialty restoration products are targeting our industry. Kimberly-Clark markets their suits with the “Recommended by the American Bio-Recovery Association” seal on them. Other products used in our industry have similar tie-ins with our trade association or at the very least mention in their advertising that their product is great for cleaning crime and trauma scenes. Even the insurance industry no longer recognizes us under their “janitorial service” heading, opting now for a “crime scene cleanup” designation for insurance coverage.

We are also seeing new technology in the form of new disinfectants, odor-remediation technology, and devices to actually measure how clean a surface really is. The National Organization for Victim Assistance is putting on a training program this fall for teaching all interested bio-recovery technicians how to better interact with victims and their families. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has sought out input so they may better understand our industry.

However, I believe the most important advancement for the industry has been the formation of training centers. Legitimate training programs help make sure that any technician who wants to be the best at their profession can attend a school that specializes in that field. By establishing a standard training and certification program, students graduate far ahead of their competitors and benefit from years of experience from seasoned industry professionals, scientists, chemists, and pathologists that helped to design the curriculum.


Jeffrey Stouffer editor
stoufferj@bnpmedia.com

Jeffrey Stouffer is editor of Restoration & Remediation magazine

Crime scene cleanup crew scours site of murder-suicideCorey Friedman

Three crosses stand in the front yard where Tracy Hedgepath once played with her three young children. The tire swing sways gently in the breeze, and bicycles lay abandoned in the scorched grass outback.

Men in blue jumpsuits walk up the front porch and inside the house. A warning sticker affixed to the front door will be removed when the crime scene cleanup crew leaves.

Five days after police say 25-year-old Austen Blake Minter shot his girlfriend and their three children before turning the gun on himself, a three-man crew from Fagala Biohazard Specialists was called to the home at 1303 Dean Drive outside Dallas. Their job is to clean up the mess Minter left behind.

“It’s a tragedy — even more so with children involved,” said Mark Fagala, founder and owner of the Gastonia-based biohazard business. “Our hearts go out to the family. This is an everyday thing for me, but when it involves children, it tugs at my heartstrings.”

Tracy Lee Hedgepath, 24, Austen Blake Minter II, 6, and Serenity Tyvon Minter, 3, died in the tidy ranch home with Minter. The oldest child, 7-year-old Destiny Miller, was shot in the face and is still recovering in a Charlotte hospital.

Hedgepath had rented the Dean Drive home in the College Park subdivision north of Dallas. The homeowners hired Fagala to remove the stains of violence and render the house habitable once again.

“We’re going to get it back to normal and just make their house safe again,” Fagala said. “This was a terrible tragedy, but these people have put their trust in me, and I’m here to do a job.”

Fagala Biohazard Specialists is certified in hazardous materials handling and cleanup and is licensed by the N.C. Board of Funeral Service. The business also cleans meth labs, sewage backups, flooded buildings and bioterrorism sites.

Mark Fagala said the Dean Drive home would take about four hours to clean.

You can reach Corey Friedman at 704-869-1828

PRESS RELEASE


Mark Fagala, owner and director of operations for Fagala Biohazard Specialists, LLC is proud to announce the addition of his brother in law John Buchanan to the family firm. "This is a great thing for our family's business" says Fagala. "John is a natural fit to our biorecovery firm." " HMC(FMF)(Ret) John Buchanan served his 20 year career as a Fleet Marine Force Navy Corpsman, he has seen 3 different wars and has all the training needed to just step right in and go to work" Fagala said.

Buchanan's credential and accomplishments are:
* NATO trained LRRP (long range reconnaissance patrol) Medic
* Enlisted Fleet Marine Forces Warfare Specialist
* Navy Master Training Specialist
* EMT-P
* Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Instructor
* Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Instructor
* Field Medical Service Instructor

Certified in:
* Preventive Medicine and Disease Prevention
* Hazardous Waste Disposal and Management
* Infection Control
* Vector Control

Buchanan was the youngest member of the U.S. ground forces during Operation Desert Shield.

"I was hesitant about retiring because I loved what I did and always felt the need to provide my expertise and serve my fellow man." Buchanan said. "The transition was much easier since I knew I would still be in the business of helping people and using my 2 decades of training to assist families through there difficult time."

"After returning from my second tour in Iraq, a lot of the Marines in my battalion were having troubles dealing with what they had seen. A friend of mine, Chris, was dealing with his war experience while also experiencing domestic relationship issues. I got the word early one morning that he had taken his own life that night.

It was devastating to everyone that knew him. His supervisor came to me that evening and asked for some medical gloves and cleaning solution. When I inquired as to there uses he explained that he was going to Chris' house to clean-up. I couldn't believe it. I explained that he wasn't certified to clean up biohazard or medical waste and that it wasn't a good idea for him to have to see the scene. He explained that the family wanted to get into the house for some important papers and that the military wouldn't consider calling someone to clean the scene properly. So, I decided to do the clean up in order to make sure it was done right and to keep his supervisor from seeing what I knew was a bad scene.

I found that I got a great sense of pride and satisfaction in helping the family out and ensuring that the people that entered the dwelling after that were safe" Buchanan said. "I have worked with Mark since my retirement and I always get that same feeling. I genuinely like helping people and working with Mark allows me to do that. I am very happy to be here."

"John's presence by joining the Fagala Biohazard Specialist Team brings the company to another level." "I am very proud and excited to have him on my team and his training just reinforces the training that my crew already has" Fagala said. Mark and his company has been serving the Carolina's since 1988 providing post forensic and death scene cleaning. They can be reached at 877-BIO-KLEAN.

How Suicide Cleanup Is Taken Up

Suicide cleanup is a part of the broad based service of Crime Scene Cleanup which involves crime and trauma decontamination and restoring it to its previous state.

It is a a niche market in the cleaning industry and involves cleaning the biologically contaminated scene of one violent death like suicide, homicide or accidental death, or even the chemically contaminated anthrax exposed site or scene of a methamphetamine lab.

Broadly speaking, crime scene cleanup and suicide cleanup is almost same but there are few exeptions to this rule. Suicide cleanup requires some extra physical effort and psychological sensitivity that the technicians should be able to handle.

Following are some examples illustrating this. A suicide generally involves close range of weapon to body and so in-depth decontamination and thorough cleaning is required. The cleaners also have to handle family members who might be present at the scene searching for answers that why their beloved person decided to end his/her life. The technicians need to remove all traces of any evidence of a suicide so that no remains are present for family members and friends that might remind them of the tragedy. Restoring of a suicide scene also means clean and restore sentimental items that mean the lot to the family of the deceased and requires additional time and effort. On a visual inspection of any suicide scene you will generally find a lot of blood and bodily fluids, but invisible to the eye, a great amount of biohazard contamination is also bound to be there.

The suicide cleanup technicians have to search thoroughly in all areas, even those that can not be seen or accessed easily and remove all traces of them from the scene. Most suicide cleanup services have their staff trained in not only dealing up with decontaminating and cleaning up issues but also about dealing with family and friends with sensitivity and compassion. Since most of such companies work in association with leading insurance companies so they can even help you to bill the insurance company directly thus saving you all the hassles. A suicide cleanup consists of the following steps. Firstly the scene should be evaluated. Next all contaminates should be located and decontaminated. A thorough search should me made again to decontaminate any traces of contaminates that might have been left out. All types of bio hazardous agents should be properly disposed of. Any microscopic remains should b treated with chemicals and the environment should be treated for odors.

Last but not the least all tools and equipments should be disinfected. But before you attempt to clean a suicide scene on your own it is always better to consult a trained professional first.

Dealing in Death

By Sam Boykin

GASTONIA — Mark Fagala was just 17 when he got into the business of death.
As a volunteer for the Gaston County fire and rescue squad, the local coroner asked Fagala to drive down to Hilton Head to pick up a body. Fagala went to the coast on a Saturday morning to load the body on a stretcher and into the back of a station wagon. Driving back to Gastonia, the reality of what he was doing started to sink in.
“For the first hour, I was just praying to Jesus, ‘Get me home,’” he said. “The stretcher was rolling back and forth; I was scared to death and swore I’d never do this again. But after another hour went by, I found a good radio station and forgot the body was back there. I was like, this ain’t nothing, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Today, Fagala, 38, is president of Fagala Mortuary and Biohazard Specialists, LLC, a company in the dirty business of cleaning up crime scenes and decontaminating homes and businesses after suicides and accidents. Fagala is the guy that shows up after the news crews and police leave; he helps family members and property owners handle an unsavory but necessary task.

“Most folks think that the police will clean up after a shooting or suicide,” Fagala said. “They’re shocked to learn it’s the property owner’s responsibility.”
It’s a niche business that’s increasingly competitive. Ten such companies are listed on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department’s Victim and Family Resource Guide. Fagala expects more entrepreneurs to enter the market as job opportunities dwindle in the economic downtown. Fagala said that over the last year or so, he’s observed a noticeable increase in the number of suicides.“More people are having money problems, they start drinking, get depressed, and think this is the only way out,” he said.

According to the N.C. Division of Public Health, the number of suicides statewide rose from 1,021 in 2004 to 1,160 in 2008. Mecklenburg County suicides decreased slightly, from 79 in 2004 to 71 in 2008.

Kathleen Jones-Vessey, interim director of the State Center for Health Statistics and manager of the Statistical Services Unit, said that while the number of suicides has increased, so has the population, which means more deaths of all kinds. Good news for folks looking to get into biohazard cleanup.

The field is unregulated and doesn’t require certification or training. The result, according to Fagala, is a number of what he calls “Johnny Scoop Shovel Services.” Fagala prides himself on being one of the state’s few crime scene specialists certified by the American Bio-Recovery Association, a nonprofit organization that promotes education and ethical standards.

Steve Alsop, on the other hand, discounts the importance of certifications, saying many certifying agencies are fly-by-night money-making enterprises. Fagala questions his comment by saying what are his credentials. Fagala is not only on the national registry with ABRA, but went in length in showing me all of his certifications. Fagala has received public, media and personal recognition and awards from agencies throughout the Carolinas.

Alsop is president of Charlotte’s Reo-Clean, which cleans up crime scenes and provides other biohazard services. For most of his career, Alsop worked as a police officer for Charlotte Douglas International Airport in the explosive ordinance canine detection unit. He started Reo-Clean in 1997 as a side business, turning it into a full-time enterprise after retiring from police work in 2004.

Over the years, Alsop has cleaned some truly grisly scenes, including a case in Charleston where five people, including young children, were murdered.
“Of course, it’s tough to deal with that kind of situation,” he said. “But you can't get involved in the why, how, who of it. Many times I don't know if the victims were black, white, old or young. I don't care. It’s my job to clean out everything that says crime scene.”

Some of the worst cases, he said, involve a natural death that goes unreported.
“The body decomposes pretty quickly,” he said. “And the stench is so bad it permeates everything. It’s even been known to penetrate steel. It takes a lot of cleaning and scrubbing to get that out. Sometimes I even have to cut out plywood sub flooring and floor joists.”

Fagala, too, has seen it all, from a man decapitated in an industrial accident to gruesome homicides. He cleaned up after a 2003 quadruple murder in Belmont in which a man killed three women and a man with a 9 mm handgun. He also specializes in chemical spills, drug labs and homes that have been trashed or filled with refuse.
The roots of his business took hold in 1990, when Fagala and his father bought a mortuary company and began transporting bodies for the State Medical Examiner’s Office. Fagala often encountered grieving, overwhelmed family members and property owners who had a rude awakening when they learned the police didn’t clean up after traumatic deaths.

Seeing a promising business niche, Fagala expanded his services in 2001 to include cleaning up suicides, homicides and industrial accidents. The 2003 quadruple homicide in Belmont was his first big case, and it helped get his name out. He developed relationships with police and medical Examiners, Funeral Directors, Victim Advocate's as well as other non-profit associations such as Children of Hoarders, NOVA-National Organization for Victims Assistance and Helpinghoarders.com who has referred him to people needing his services.

Fagala’s tools of the trade include two bio-recovery vehicles equipped with full-body biohazard suits, respirators, and a variety of chemicals and enzymes as well as the state of the art equipment. "We Use Real Bio recovery Vehicles We do not tote a along a trailer full of equipment using the family minivan, truck or SUV. Our state of the art bio recovery trucks are equipped with a spill recovery system to protect the environment, and our service vans are treated with Line-X on the inside for that same eco friendly protection. There are too many rouge companies that use the family minivan, truck or SUV, which creates a danger to their own family, friends and loved ones by cross contamination. Just think…. they use that very same vehicle to bring the groceries home in. All of our vehicles are computerized to expedite all insurance paperwork.

Our Trucks are Professionally Marked We do not use the pull away magnetic signs commonly used on the family minivan, truck or SUV. More than likely if you see a company with magnetic decals on a vehicle, this means that you may be contracting with an individual who is not committed to this line of work full time. They have a full time job elsewhere to where they are hiding their part time hobby from their employer. Fagala Biohazard Specialists is dedicated to your need full time. He runs the business from his home, located in a picturesque suburban neighborhood in Gastonia. It’s an unlikely setting for such a grisly line of work. Fagala and his wife have three children, and his office is cluttered with a crib, baby stroller and toys. Next to an armoire filled with diapers and baby clothes, a table holds EMS and fire rescue pagers that fill the room with chatter and static.

Two full-time employees and about a dozen part-timers from the local fire and rescue squad help out as needed. Over the years, Fagala estimates, he’s cleaned thousands of crime scenes.

“You’ve got small ones that just require a quick cleanup, but some are large scale — like a shotgun to the head — where there’s bone fragments on the ceiling and brain matter splattered everywhere,” he said.
He knows that his line of work may sound gruesome. But every time he enters a crime scene, his mind simply “flips a switch.”

“I go into a different mode,” he said. “If you don't, you'll go crazy.” Fagala also has started another unique service called Bio Protect, LLC. http://www.bioprotectnow.com/ Mark and his good friend Gordy Powell, owner of A 1 Bio Clean out of Atlanta were reacting to calls for MRSA and H1N1 and swine flu for years. They can now not only clean a property for anything that has a potential virus such as MRSA, but can now apply a anti microbial barrier that guarantee's the property for 3 years. For more information on any of Fagala's company's he can be reached @ mark@carolinacrimescenecleanup.com or 877-246-5532.

Crime & Trauma Scene Conference Underway

The owners of Fagala Biohazard Specialist and Bio-Recovery Corporation are in Orlando, FL attending the 2009 anuual American Bio-Recovery Associations Inter-national Conference on biohazard and pandemic outbreaks that are becoming more prevelant in our everyday lives.

Fagala the leader in Crime Scene cleanup services in North carolina and Bio-Recovery remediation is attending sessions to update there response capabiltiies to deal with H1N1, Cdiak and MRSA outbreaks that are currently arising throughout the United States. They have received inservices on the latest technology to dealing with these pandemics.

Mark has also partnered with Gordy Powell from A 1 Bio Clean out of Atlanta, Ga to form Bio Protect, LLC. (www.bioprotectnow.com)Mark and Gordy can now offer services nationwide to address the MRSA and H1N1 "super bugs" and can guarentee this product for 3 years. "It does no good to clean a school or nursing home that a person is coming right back into the same environment" said Mark Fagala of Fagala Biohazard Specialists and Bio Protect, LLC. For the latest information and answers call Mark @ 877-246-5532.