I am writing this blog today with a heavy, heavy heart. In the past 20 years or so, suicide rates have raised 30 percent. 30 percent! What is going on in today's society that is so different than 25 or 30 years ago? Do the shifts in our society have a hand in the dramatic increase? Media outlet addictions, selfies, political wars, religious wars, more openly gay and lesbian teenagers, more labels such as 'transgender, pansexual, questioning, queer, asexual, demisexual, intersex' being added to our vocabularies, rise in crime rates, rise in divorce rates, and the list goes on and on as to how our society has changed. Are people overwhelmed with these changes- whether it being themselves who are the change or themselves who cannot accept the change? So many 'what ifs' but only one fact- there is a 30 percent increase in people taking their own lives.
Just this past week, two known celebrities took their own life: Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. Military veterans are killing themselves at a tragic rate of at least 20 suicides a day. Some would say to tell others to reach out if they feel suicidal to help prevent them from committing the irreversible act. Others would say that people who deal with depression and suicidal ideation are not in the mind set to reach out for help so the responsibility is on the friends and family to reach out to them- that sometimes the seemingly strongest and happiest people are dealing with inner demons on a daily basis. If that is the case, and I believe it is, then what can be done to save those lives? I wish I knew the answer.
Last night at 0130 hours, I received a call from an aunt calling on behalf of her brother and sister-in-law. Her nephew, 15 years old, had shot himself with a .22 hand gun while his parents were out of town. His 22 year old brother held him in his arms until the police arrived. We get these calls too often. We want to be the company that is called to help because we got into this business to help others, but hate what happened and it lays heavy on our hearts. After responding once the police cleared the scene, the coroner came and left, and when the family was ready for us to arrive, we took care of the scene so when the parents came home from their trip there would be no traces of the saddening, heartrending event.
This I am sure upset you to read, however this is what we do on a daily basis. We work with families who are going through such horrific times, and our hearts are always 100 percent with the family to help ease even just an ounce of their stress and pain. Something as simple as us calling in the claim to their home owner's insurance for the family relieves them of one less task to take on when dealing with such an unexpected heartbreak. Bio-One is always here to help. Arriving when wanted, working professionally and proficiently, expressing compassion and a shoulder to cry on if needed, and following up afterwards, we, Bio-One STC, make a difference. This morning we made a small difference to a family who fell victim to suicide, and that small difference is the reason we do what we do- Help First, Business Second.
Author: Megan and Amanda Boccardi
Attention property owners and realtors! We can help you more than you know. Just this week we, Bio-One STC, has helped two different property owners who own properties for a secondary income- one for a hoarding/sanitation project and the other being a cat urine remediation. Having had a rental property ourselves, we understand what messes can be left when the previous tenant or owner walks away from the property for good. From hoards, to gross filth, to feces, to urine, to mold, to unbelievable horrific odors, we can help get the property ready for sell and ready for a new family.
Renters do not always treat the home they reside in as if it were their own- this is no secret. Once a renter moves out and the owner assesses the residence for what repairs need to be made, sometimes more issues come up than expected. Even though that lease states that smoking cigarettes in the residence is prohibited, many tenants ignore that rule. We can help with tobacco odor removal! Pets can damage a home by either defecating and/or urinating on the flooring and or walls which not only leaves an awful smell, but a bio-hazard that is not easy to remove. We can help with feces and urine remediation and odor removal from those situations! Hoarding and neglect of throwing away food and/or items that are soiled cause mold and a bad distinguished odor. We can help with hoarding removal, mold remediation, and the awful smell! How about just a deep clean/sanitation of a residence that looks like it has not been properly cleaned in a long time- our chemicals are stronger and better than anything that can be bought over the counter. We can make that residence sparkle! Sometimes tragedy occurs in a home where the owner of the property is left to handle it- a crime or death occurs causing damage to the home from the blood and/or other bodily fluids. We can help with removing those bio-hazards and getting the residence back to a safe condition!
There really is a long list of what Bio-One can do to help others.
A property owner contacted us last week to bid a gross filth/hoarding/sanitation project that her previous tenants had caused. We are working on that property next week and she has already contacted us on another sanitation project where there is also mold to be remediated. While at this bid our estimator discovered the mold underneath the laminate in the basement. The mold was discovered because we are trained and know what to look for. When leaving that second bid with her, she made the comment that she wished she knew us sooner because she has experienced several different situations where Bio-One could have helped. Once someone has seen and smelt what our chemicals and machines can do, they are convinced- Bio-One can greatly help in a timely and proficient manner while doing the project properly/the right way. Keep us in mind when you or your clients are forced to deal with any of these issues, and more we are only a call away!
Bio-One takes pride in going above and beyond for clients on a daily basis. We strive to be better than our competitors and it comes easy to us. Those of us who open Bio-One offices are buying into a franchise that focuses on Helping First, Business Second. Helping First, Business Second is not only our motto but our way of life. Clients not only see but feel how sincere we are when it comes to wanting to help them through a hard or tragic time of their life. But how are we different from our competition? If you google bio-hazard clean up, blood clean up, suicide clean up, homicide clean up, undiscovered death clean up, feces clean up, or hoarding clean up, a handful of companies come across your first page- Bio-One STC being in the top three usually. Why contract Bio-One STC to do the work? Why trust us to help you during a personal devastating event?
There are many ways Bio-One shines above all competitors. We are locally owned and when you call us, you get the owner answering your call, not a call service. Bio-One gets involved with the community like no other crime and trauma scene cleaning companies. At each event Amanda and I sponsor or volunteer, we are the only company of our kind. Why is that? What we do for a living is unique and can dramatically help someone who did not know there was help out there- why wouldn't companies like us get out there and educate others on how we CAN help during the utmost difficult times in a family's life. Why are we the only company of our kind volunteering in the community and giving back? Law enforcement in our area know of Amanda and I and of Bio-One because we personally get involved in what they are doing in the community and help whenever we can. Being previous law enforcement ourselves, it is obvious we not only highly respect our officers, but are so grateful for them and what they do on a daily basis that most people will never even know about.
When going on bids, Amanda and I are engaged with our clients. We are personal with them, not business like showing up in a suit, but showing up as if needed we can start work right away. Sincerity in listening to their needs and really wanting to help goes a long way and that is the impression our client gets on every bid. When working on a hoarding bid/proposal for a potential client, we take our time writing a minimum of a four page proposal which is oriented and designed for our client in mind. After going over our proposal, the client has a clear understanding of what exactly Bio-One represents and what exactly will be done during the project at hand. There are no bait and switch tactics and/or hidden costs- what our client sees is what our client gets- transparency is our goal.
Above all else, Amanda and I with Bio-One STC truly care for others and truly want to help others- that is why we got into this business and why we were law enforcement for years. We did not open this business to gain a profit; we opened this business to help others, be involved in the community, as well as be our own bosses. Pride in what we do is not only apparent but 'in your face' when you to speak us- we cannot hide our love for our company and what we do- nor should we. We know we are the leading company in the nation for crime and trauma scene cleaning and there is no question as to why. Bio-One owners are hand picked and share the same qualities and values; we all live by 'Helping First, Business Second'.
Author: Megan and Amanda Boccardi
I have to blog today about our all star technicians we are so fortunate to have working with us. As any business owner knows, good help is so hard to find. Employees can be lazy, unreliable, complacent, unappreciative, and a little too comfortable with their employer and with their job as a whole. Becoming complacent and a little too comfortable is common when working for the same employer for a long period of time, but with our company, those qualities can be endangering to our day to day operations. I've stated before what we look for in our technicians and also that we are hiring one more technician. Our current full time technicians not only exhibit all of those qualities we need in our techs, but go above and beyond on every job which impresses us and what they are capable of.
Just yesterday our two full time technicians helped a family that was dealing with a loved one who was undiscovered as deceased for a long period of time. The family reached out to make sure their supervisors knew how respectful and professional our technicians were when on scene and while working. That compliment is one of MANY we have received from clients in the previous weeks. Not only are our technicians working hard on scenes, remaining professional and respectful, they are also dealing with a number of things that typical titled technicians in other fields are never faced with. Gross filth conditions, feces (human and animal), blood, vomit, very strong odors, dead animals, mold, urine, hazardous conditions working on rooftops/hoarder's homes/attics/crawl spaces/etc., and last but not least, working with families who have just experienced a major tragedy/loss. When thinking about what kind of person we need as a technician, that person must be very special. And we have TWO!
These guys work in the worst conditions, in hot bio-hazard suits, getting strenuous workouts, and they never complain, they never throw up their hands and say they are "done", they never quit. Both are ready to go help a family at all times of the day, and leave whatever event they are at to handle the scene efficiently and timely. I cannot say enough about our two full time technicians we currently have. We do need one more full timer, but the way these two work, there is not much they cannot handle together. It has been a hard challenge for Amanda and I to find those technicians we trust on scenes without one or both of us being there, but we have finally found our all star full time technicians! Way to work guys- you make Bio-One shine above all else!
Author: Megan and Amanda Boccardi
Working for the "man" in the corporate world with deadlines and goals to reach, stress can grow on an individual to the point of dreading the idea of coming into work. Work is supposed to be fun and challenging, but for many work becomes mundane and boring to the point of mental anguish. Same goes for our first responders who work in the most stressful environments known to the working man or woman. They do not exactly work in a corporate environment and many do not have desks- they have a patrol car, ambulance, or fire truck they spend most of their time in- but they also develop the same stressful feelings of goals to reach, deadlines to beat, and becoming frustrated about not feeling appreciated by their peers, superiors, and the very community they serve on a daily basis.
Reports, reports, reports. Police, Fire, and Paramedics know what I am talking about. Those reports alone can make the job stressful. Shift work is stressful on the body, especially as officers get older. There is something unnatural about being wide awake at 3 a.m. prepared for if a disaster strikes or major crime takes place, you are ready to handle it, while most everyone else is asleep in their warm beds. What about those major cases officers take on where they do everything right from the first report, to the last interview, to the last piece of evidence needed to put a suspect behind bars, and their case gets dropped by the prosecuting attorney's office? What about all of that time and effort the officer or detective put in, all of that heart, all of that sweat and pain- what happens to all of that? It gets pushed aside for the next case to be handled, the next case that takes up the officer's time, heart, and energy. Yes, police officers chose their profession so they should just deal with the stresses, heartache, and let downs, right? Just because they made the brave decision to protect those who cannot protect themselves does not disregard the effects the job has on these men and women. They are human, and they feel just like everyone else.
I am proud to have worn the uniform for the years I wore it. I am so proud of the officers who continue to patrol their beats to catch a criminal in the act or prevent crime from occurring. I am so proud of my detective friends who take on some of the worst cases such as child abuse, homicide, sexual assaults, burglaries- the list goes on and on- and still find a way to go home at night, unwind, and enjoy their family without bringing the stresses of work home with them. I love my brothers and sisters in blue and have nothing but the utmost respect for them and what they stand for. Another reason I chose Bio-One as the business to open is because I knew how involved the Bio-One offices across the country were with their law enforcement.
I still get to be involved in the law enforcement community and I get to volunteer my time and give back which is so fulfilling. Our corporate office and all of the Bio-One offices across the U.S. are huge supporters of my brothers and sisters in blue. Our founder and corporate office are such big supporters, they have offered a chance for an officer injured in the line of duty who cannot be in law enforcement anymore or have very limited abilities from the injury to be a Bio-One franchise owner by paying for all of the opening costs. How many businesses, corporations, franchises have offered that to our law enforcement community? None. Check out BioOneBacksTheBlue.com campaign if you or someone you know would be interested in owning a Bio-One franchise and becoming a part of our family. The first office awarded may be happening this week for Police Week but there are a few more offices to be awarded in the future.
Author: Megan and Amanda Boccardi
Remember me saying (a couple times) that warm weather equals busy season for Bio-One? And do you remember what jobs are more prominent in warmer weather? If not, I will refresh your memory. Decompositions , also known as Undiscovered Deaths, and Hoarding projects are more common and frequent during the warmer weather months. Why is that? What do decompositions and hoarding jobs have in common? Smell. You know how your trash cans smell more in the summer time while they sit in your hot garage or outside- same goes for deaths that go undiscovered for several days and houses that are hoarded (especially the ones with feces and/or rotten food).
The weather in St. Louis has been getting hotter and so has our incoming phone call volume. Last week we, Bio-One STC, had a hoarding/feces clean up job, and two undiscovered death clean ups. This week we have started a week long hoarding job where the home is entirely affected by dog feces and urine- several years worth. Undiscovered deaths are being discovered a bit sooner due to the smell that manifests from a decomposed body. Mold, feces, rotten food, dead rodents, rodent feces, and the list goes on and on with items/bio-hazards found in a hoarded home that cause those awful smells most people cannot handle (or their stomach for that matter). Is it a coincidence that the two most common jobs that come with warmer weather were the jobs we had the past week- probably not.
Does our job sound gross to you? I guess I can understand why, however I do not see it that way. All owners of Bio-One got into this business to help people despite how cliche that may sound. Who better to need help than a family member who discovered their loved one's death caused damage to their home? Or how about a person yearning for a healthier life and is to the point of desperation to get their home cleared out and cleaned? Hoarders do not like to call us and have strangers come into their home; they are embarrassed and feeling shame and guilt. But, they do call us and we respect them for wanting to better their lives. We have the fortunate opportunity to help others on a day to day basis- how many people can honestly say that?
Author: Megan and Amanda Boccardi
People tend to watch the show Hoarders: Buried Alive and think to themselves that the show is staged and fake. "How could someone live like that? That cannot be real!" It is real and even more extreme in real life. Bio-One sees the worst of the worst conditions- people call us when it has gotten so bad they need a bio-hazard remediation company to come in and fix the problem. Calls do not typically come in for us to help with a slight degree of clutter however no job is too big and no job is too small for Bio-One to take on. We, Bio-One STC, have seen so many things at our hoarding jobs that we have been told we could write a book. Writing a book would not be to bring shame to any of our previous clients but to bring awareness to this illness that plagues our country and that goes untreated. Swept under the rug and hidden from society many hoarders feel their struggle goes unnoticed.
Just this week our crew is working on a hoarding job in Sauget, Illinois approximately an hour from our office (we travel where we are needed). This particular job hit our hearts with an urge to help this family in need. A woman and her son live in a home by themselves- the woman is approx. 70 years of age and the son is in his 40s. They both are hoarders who do not throw trash away. On top of mounds of trash and debris in the home, there is rodent feces everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere- caked on the floors, on the furniture, on the debris- basically on every surface of the home. If you are not aware yourself, rodent feces carries several diseases which some can be spread via airborne. There are dogs in the home that are not well cared for who also use the home as a bathroom. The woman has had horrible health problems and was just released from the hospital from contracting Sepsis and going into Septic Shock. Her sister and family are desperate to get the home remediated because they are afraid their sister will die in the home if it is left in the current condition- so our crew is there to fulfill the families needs.
When I stated before in a previous blog that Bio-One helps save lives- I was not being facetious. People get sick and die in these hoarded homes at sometimes young ages due to the bio-hazards that live, grow, and thrive in those kind of conditions- such as mold, feces, contractual infections, and lets not leave out the physical hazards of climbing over a hoard or a hoard falling on someone trapping them. You think these conditions are rare? I did too until I stepped into the Bio-One world. We, Bio-One STC, get calls each week for hoarding bids- and they are rarely for homes with a slight clutter problem.
Hoarders have this stigma that they cannot shake mainly because people are unaware of what causes the desire to hoard. These people are not 'crazy' nor are they any different from you or I. Many times hoarders have OCD on the opposite spectrum and unfortunately for them there is no medication to control their unstoppable urge to buy and not release. I have found with experience that many hoarders are hoarding due to a significant loss and do not know how to deal with their pain and grief other than to surround themselves around things. There are many illnesses, diseases, ailments that exist in this world that can be treated, yet for these people who hoard, they have no special pill to curb their appetite for slow destruction- destruction of their health, their home, and their relationships. All we can do is help get their home to a safe condition, and help the family understand that the problem is not fixed, it is just now being dealt with. Constant check ins of the hoarder from family members and even something as simple as hiring a maid service to come in once a week can help the hoarder live with their illness yet also keep their hoarding tendencies in better check.
Author: Megan and Amanda Boccardi
We get many inquires each month on how to become a crime scene cleaning technician as well as inquiries on if we are hiring. The great thing about working with Bio-One, we train our technicians and put them through all of the training they need to properly clean a crime scene. Amanda and I of Bio-One STC are fortunately trainers ourselves, so we can train our technicians and get them certified once they are hired. There is classroom training, tests online, and on the job training that gets each tech confident on how to go into a scene and tackle it in a proficient and safe way.
When interviewing a potential technician, we mainly look for certain qualities and traits. Our technicians must be honest, efficient, professional, empathetic, respectful, punctual, possess common sense, possess strong integrity, and last but not least- compassionate. Dealing with families who just suffered the worst loss of their lives, our technicians have to possess those qualities. For our line of work, we also need technicians who are flexible and willing to work at all hours of the night, weekends, and sometimes holidays. Crime and trauma does not take a break after 5 p.m. during the week and does not stop on the weekends and holidays. Availability is also important since we never know when an important emergency call will come in, so being available to get to a job within the hour is a requirement.
This job is not for everyone. We see more than what the average person sees. Blood, feces (human and animal), suicides, homicides, shootings, hoarder's homes in the utmost worst conditions are all things we see on a daily basis. A weak stomach need not apply. Seeing how some people live out of depression to create a hoarded home and seeing what evil people can do at crime scenes can take a toll on some people. We have a job to do- we go in with professionalism and empathy and make the horrific scene disappear. Hoarding jobs are very hard work but seeing how the residence looks after we are finished from where it started is extremely satisfying for us and our clients. We may be hiring in the near future since our busy season is approaching- so if you possess those qualities and can take on the responsibility of being 'on call'- give us a call!
St. Louis is a great place to live with many attractions that appeal to many different cultures and generations. Between the City Museum, Magic House, Art Museum, St. Louis Zoo, Science Center, Busch Wildlife, Cardinals Games, Blues Games, Fox Theater, and the new St. Louis Aquarium opening soon in Union Station- we as St. Louisans are proud to live in or near a city that contains so much diversity in culture and entertainment. Crime stats prove that despite having great major league teams and several area attractions, our city is not the safest and the population drop is exhibiting just that. The violent crime rate in St. Louis is one of the highest in the country. St. Louis County Police Department averaged approximately 4.2 murders per 100,000 people, and crimes committed by guns have increased by 12% since 2010. St. Louis City Police Department averaged approximately 57.7 murders per 100,000 people.
Named "The Worst City in Missouri to Live In" last year, the people of St. Louis city and St. Louis county are moving away. Last year, St. Louis lost 4,500 residents which was the highest drop since 2010. Some people argue that our city is declining and the contrary is the truth- the city is growing and evolving. Either way, our crime stats do not lie and crime is on the rise. Considering crime stats are growing, the need for companies like us, Bio-One, are on the rise.
The suicide rate in the St. Louis area has sky rocketed 15% in the past 15 years. We see many violent crimes in our line of work, however we may even see more suicides. Mental illness is the main path that leads to suicide since studies have shown that more than 90 percent of people who took their own life could have been diagnosed with a mental illness or had been diagnosed. Just like our crime rates, suicide rates are steadily climbing each year. Even though positive changes are being made with our law enforcement and judicial system with regards to dealing with and handling victims and criminals of mental illness, there is still more work to be done.
Ways to help prevent you from being a victim to the rising crime in St. Louis area are simple: Be aware of your surroundings, avoid walking alone in parking garages and dark areas, plan out your route ahead of time so getting lost in an unknown area is preventable, keep your vehicle doors locked while it is parked and while you are driving, and especially if alone- if asked by a bystander for money do NOT reach into your purse to look for something to give him or her- that takes your eyes off of the bystander and he or she could strike you when you are not looking. These acts may seem simple, however people fall victim to crime everyday by simply not being aware of their surroundings.
Author: Megan and Amanda Boccardi
When telling people what we do for a living, we usually get the same response, and it goes something like this- "Wow! You clean up crime scenes? How do you do it? I cannot imagine." Crime, trauma, suicides, homicides, hoarding, defecating accidents, staff infections along with any and all infectious airborne diseases/contagious contact diseases have been happening for hundreds of years. Who used to clean and disinfect homes, buildings, cars, and any other surfaces affected by any of the above bio-hazards? I think for years people just splashed some bleach on blood and feces, wiped it all up, and called it a day. Now that we as a society are more educated and there seems to be more strands of infectious diseases that plague our world, companies like us are needed and very much wanted.
What exactly does Bio-One do? I like to inform people that we do not JUST clean up crime scenes, although the St. Louis area keeps us busy with those. We work with families of the elderly who are sick and either bleed tremendously throughout their home or defecate in copious amounts among their home and need it cleaned up properly. Hoarding keeps us busy in the St. Louis area, especially in the summer time when smells become more conspicuous and code enforcement and neighbors become more aware. Decompositions are very prominent in the St. Louis area due to suicides and death by natural causes that go undiscovered for days. Blood and bodily fluids that form in the body and around the body cause major damage to the structure of the home- let alone the indescribable smell that WILL not go away without our help. I also never thought I would be a pro at catching those annoying maggots that form on and near the body once the body decomposes for many days at a time. Yes, I said maggots- and yes nothing really grosses us out anymore and we always enjoy the challenge.
Bio-One also prides themselves in supporting the Thin Blue Line (Law Enforcement). Just this week we remediated a patrol car at one of our local police departments- a prisoner had fallen causing a laceration on his head which in turn he bled on the fabric of the rear seat of the officer's vehicle. We responded and remediated the vehicle at a very low cost- we charge police departments just enough to cover our expenses. No profit is attempted to be made from police departments when we clean their jail cells, interview rooms, and vehicle fleet. Giving back to those who protect us on a daily basis is not only important to Bio-One, but our way of life.
Do you have a cat urine smell problem? How about a rodent feces problem in a crawl space, attic, basement, or throughout your home? How about mold? We remediate mold with our chemicals and make sure it is remediated properly due to how dangerous mold can be. Are you a landlord and your tenant left the home in a filthy disgusting condition? It is amazing what our team and chemicals can do and how they can make a home sparkle. What about disgusting odors such as tobacco smoke? We come and wipe off the walls with apparent tobacco stains, run our ozone machine for hours, and do whatever else is necessary to get rid of the strong odor.
If you have an issue and are not sure if Bio-One STC can help, just CALL us at 636-279-9570. If we cannot help (rarely happens), we can at least help point you in the right direction. Remember our motto– Help first, Business second!
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