Dirty job gets done

By HANK DANISZEWSKI

Ron Thomas of Canadian Crime and Trauma Scene Cleanup and his two employees clean up after crime, suicides, accidents or natural deaths. (Morris Lamont, Sun Media)
After the ambulance, police and media leave a violent crime scene, someone has to clean up the bloody mess.

That would be Ron Thomas, owner of Canadian Crime and Trauma Scene Cleanup.

Based in London, Thomas and his two employees go all over Southwestern Ontario cleaning up after crime, suicides, accidents or natural deaths that go undiscovered for some time.

Last week, he was called by police in Woodstock to clean up the home of the parents of Thomas Rafferty, who was charged in the murder of eight-year-old Victoria (Tori) Stafford.

Thomas tidied up and cleaned all the fingerprint dust after the police investigators were through.

The company also does a lot of hoarding cases -- people who die or move away, leaving piles of rotting debris and garbage in their homes.

Thomas said any dried blood or human tissue left at a crime scene carries the risk of disease and infection and is treated as a biohazard.

"You don't know who you are cleaning up for. It has to be treated like toxic material," he said.

In the most serious cases, he and his crew don biohazard suits and respirators. Waste from a contaminated scene usually has to be incinerated.

Thomas launched the company in 2006 as a spinoff of S.A. Thomas Dyna-Build, a flood and fire restoration business run by his brother.

He and his crew went to Ohio to get training and certification from the American Bio-Recovery Association.

Thomas, who has to document all his work to satisfy provincial safety and environment officials, said careful cleanup allows a house or vehicle to be usable again. That puts an end to the urban myth about the new Cadillac selling dirt-cheap because a dead body was found inside.

Thomas has a hydroxyl cleaner and disinfectant generator that can neutralize all foul-smelling molecules.

He said it's often a grim business that many couldn't handle

"I don't know if you ever get used to it. But nothing surprises me any more," he said.

Thomas said black humour becomes a coping mechanism, as it often is for police and health professionals.

"You do it behind the scenes. It helps you not to think about the seriousness of the situation."

Over the years he has collected many unusual tales.

There was the dim-witted criminal who smashed into an ATM machine and had his hand mangled when he reached into the machinery. Thomas was called in to clean up the blood and disinfect the machine.

Then there was the nice, neat luxury home where the master bedroom and kitchen were off-limits to the professional cleaners. Thomas was called in after the elderly owner moved out. He carted 810 wine bottles and mounds of cigarette butts out of the bedroom and found the fridge stuffed with rotting food.

Thomas's services don't come cheap. He charges about $175 an hour, which he says is the going rate.

He said cleaning up the scene of a tragedy can be hazardous both physically and mentally and should be left to professionals.

"There are some things you should not see, especially if it involves a loved one. Some people try it and call us halfway through," he said.

Hank Daniszewski is a Free Press business reporter. hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca