Fort Collins, Colorado
Biohazard cleanup and crime scene cleanup in Fort Collins
After a death, a violent crime or a serious accident, someone has to make the home safe to live in again. It should not be the family. Call (970) 372-1484 and you will be put through to an independent biohazard cleanup company that works in Fort Collins and the towns around it.
Answered around the clock, every day
What this is
A phone number that reaches a local cleanup company
Biohazard Cleanup Fort Collins is a referral service. It has no workers or vans of its own. The number on this page reaches an independent company that does crime scene cleanup, unattended death cleanup and other bio hazard work in Larimer County.
You talk to that company yourself. It asks what happened, tells you what the job involves and when it can come, and gives you its price. Whether to hire it is up to you.
People call for a parent's house, a rental unit, a shop floor, a car. Most have never had to arrange anything like this before. You do not need the right words.
Situations
What has happened?
Each page explains what the cleanup involves and what to do before the company arrives.
- Crime scene and trauma cleanupPolice have finished and gone. What the violence left in the room still has to be dealt with.Read more
- A death found lateNobody knew for a week or more. By then the floor under the bed or chair is affected too.Read more
- After a suicideA relative or friend can arrange it by phone, and the family stays out of the room.Read more
- Blood and bodily fluidsNo one died, but a fall, a deep cut or an ambulance call left a lot of blood on floors or furniture.Read more
- Hoarded homes with wasteUnder the piles there is pet or human waste, food gone bad, or mice. That makes it a health job.Read more
- Disinfection after illnessSomebody was badly ill in the building and you want it cleaned first, then properly disinfected.Read more
- Inside a vehicleSeat foam, belts and carpet in a car soak things up quickly. A detailer is seldom equipped for it.Read more
In Fort Collins
Who comes to the house, and in what order
Fort Collins Police Services
Officers come first when a death is unexpected or a crime may have happened. If you have a question about the scene afterwards, the non-emergency number is (970) 419-3273.
The Larimer County Coroner
The coroner's office looks into sudden and unexpected deaths anywhere in the county, and its investigators are on call around the clock. The office is at 1600 Prospect Park Way; the phone is (970) 498-6161.
The release
When their work at the address is done, the officer or the coroner's investigator tells you the home is released. If nobody has said so, ask. Do not clean or throw anything out before then.
The cleanup company
Neither the police nor the coroner cleans. From the release on, arranging it falls to the owner or the family, and that is where the number on this page comes in.
Paying for it
Insurance, victim compensation and the estate
Some homeowner's and renter's policies pay for biohazard cleanup and some do not. Your insurer or agent is the only one who can tell you. Ask before work starts, and keep the cleanup company's paperwork.
If a crime caused it, Colorado's Crime Victim Compensation is run separately in each judicial district. Larimer County is the 8th. Its list of covered costs names medical bills, counseling, funeral costs and damaged doors, locks and windows, but not scene cleanup, so call the program at (970) 498-7290 and ask before you count on it.
The full picture, including Weld County's different rule, is in who pays for cleanup.
Beyond the city
Nearby towns
Companies reached through this number also work in the towns below. Which police department and which coroner are involved changes from one to the next. See the whole service area.
LovelandLoveland has its own police department. Deaths there go to the Larimer County Coroner.
WindsorWindsor sits in two counties, so the coroner and the compensation program depend on the address.
GreeleyWeld County's coroner is in Greeley, and its victim compensation form names scene sanitization.
TimnathTimnath has its own officers, reached through Larimer County dispatch.
SeveranceA Weld County town with a small police department and county dispatch after hours.Common questions
Before you call
Is biohazard cleanup the same thing as crime scene cleanup?
Mostly, yes. Crime scene cleanup is one kind of biohazard cleanup. The same companies also clean after unattended deaths, suicides, accidents and severe hoarding, where no crime was involved at all.
How soon can someone come?
That is for the company to say, and it turns on whether the address has been released yet. Someone picks up the phone 24 hours a day, so put the question when you ring.
What decides the price?
The size of the affected area, how long it went unnoticed, and what has to be taken out, such as carpet, subfloor, drywall or a mattress. Waste that counts as medical waste costs more to haul. Ask for the price in writing before work begins.
Why not clean it myself?
OSHA describes bloodborne pathogens as infectious microorganisms in human blood that can cause disease. Trained workers wear protective equipment for that reason. After a death, fluids also soak into flooring and furniture where a mop does not reach.