Carson City's Crime-Scene cleanup service discusses the dignity of death, safety, and next steps

After driving public transport for half a decade, Tawny Barker knew she wanted some peace and quiet, and decided instead to apply to drive transport for a mortuary.

This started the process which has now led her to open Nobility Trauma Clean-Up LLC, which serves the tri-county regions of Carson City, Douglas County and Lyon County in crime scene cleanup, trauma cleanup, meth-lab decontamination, hoarding, and more.

Barker has worked in the area for crime scene cleanup for years, and at the encouragement of local law enforcement agencies with whom she works closely, she decided to open a permanent location in Carson City at 3030 Sunrise Drive, which will officially open on February 17.

“When I worked at the mortuary, I would be on the scene of a death and I’d ask law enforcement, ’who comes in here to clean this up?’ and there was no real answer,” said Barker. “My heart went out to these families who were stuck with this traumatic situation with no solution. I had the heart and the stomach for it, and I wanted to help these families in whatever way I could.”

She set out to attain all of the certifications necessary for crime-scene cleanup such as blood-born pathogens, respiratory protection, hoarding properties and meth-lab decontamination and began offering her services through the referrals of law enforcement agencies.

The process is straight-forward: a family member will call Barker about a need for her services, and Barker will ask information such as location, name, and a general indication of what happened, and if there are any law enforcement agencies involved.

“Then I’ll contact the law enforcement agent who will be able to provide more in-depth details of what I can expect at a scene,” said Barker. “I don’t want to put any additional stress on family members who have already gone through enough. I try to make the process as easy and seamless for them as possible. It’s my job to help them.”

It’s extremely important for someone like Barker who has the experience and training to properly decontaminate a traumatic crime scene. According to Barker, highly contagious pathogens can spread easily and quickly, and many people can have something as contagious as Hepatitis C for thirty years without showing symptoms.

“There are serious health risks involved doing it yourself, even if it’s your loved one," said Barker. "You never know how certain diseases can be contracted; it’s not safe and it’s not worth jeopardizing your physical health or your mental health. I will always work with people; no one should have to suffer or be traumatized.”

More-so, Barker believes it’s important for her to save families the heartache of being forced to clean up after the death of a loved one. Barker recently was tasked with processing the scene of a close relative, partially because there was no one else to do it, and partially because she wanted to make sure it was done with dignity and respect.

“I know that if I do it, it will be done right,” said Barker. “But it was very hard. It hurt. I know what it feels like to have to clean up the remains of someone close to you, and I don’t want anyone else to have to go through that.”

Barker is also in school currently to expand her business into a crematorium to serve the community so she can streamline the process for her clients who are dealing with the death of a loved one, and make sure the remains are treated with dignity and respect. When she worked with mortuaries, she made sure veterans' remains were draped with the flag out of respect for their service.

“I want people to know that Nobility is here for them through and through, that we actually care and we will take their feelings into consideration,” said Barker. “If they can’t afford it, I will work with them. The insurance companies will pay 99 percent of the time, and I will contact the insurance company directly and help them through the process. I also provide additional resources and information for therapy, financial assistance, things like that.”

Barker also provides service for automotive or animal clean up, such as in the case of fatal vehicle accidents, or if a vehicle strikes a deer, which, according to Barker, can carry just as many diseases as a human.

“You cannot pressure wash remains of an animal from your vehicle and be safe from disease,” said Barker. “It’s a common mistake people make.”

As far as vehicle decontamination goes, Barker works with a certified mechanic of 20 years who is also certified in crime-scene clean up techniques, and they work together to take vehicles apart in order to fully clean and decontaminate them.

The location at 3030 Sunrise Drive will be officially open on February 17. If you would like to contact Barker with any questions about her business, you can email her at nobility.cleanup@gmail.com or call her at (775) 433-3834.