BioClean owner needs faith and strong stomach

Sunday school teacher clear, disinfects scenes after murders, suicides
By Khristopher J. Brooks
Lansing State Journal

Kameron Bradman is a church-going, family man who loves motorcycles, sunflowers and people.

He's a hometown guy who teaches sixth grade Sunday school at South Baptist Church in Delta Township and goes camping with his family.

It's not until it's time for work that the Lansing resident goes from pitching tents at camp sites to wiping blood off of a living room floor.

Bradman, 37, cleans murder and suicide crime scenes in Michigan. It's not an easy task, especially when a family has suffered a great loss. He and the crew pray for the family before each job.

"All the scenes I go to, there's a family that's been destroyed," Bradman said. "Every job I go to there's a death and it's usually violent. My heart goes out to those surviving victims."

Bradman started BioClean Team Inc. nine years ago with a heart full of faith. He withdrew the last $42 from the family savings account and quit his job at Meijer.

Today, his company has grown to seven employees with annual revenue of more than $100,000.

"I get calls from funeral homes, police departments, victims themselves - such as a family member, a county coroner, and sometimes I'll get call from a neighbor," he said.

Bradman, born in 1968 to Doug and Judith Bradman, graduated from DeWitt High School in 1986 then began working as a store detective for Meijer while studying criminal justice at Lansing Community College. In 1991, he was promoted to Meijer loss prevention manager, but often wondered who sterilizes crime scenes after police investigations.

"Every officer that I asked in all the departments said 'I have no idea,'" he recalled.

When he saw there was a need, he pursued it.

Now, Bradman's 24-hour service helps South Haven Police Department work more efficiently, said Chief Rod Somerlott.

"The police department cannot use the booking room or a patrol car until it's cleaned," after a crime, he said.

Somerlott, one of Bradman's recent clients, said his department uses BioClean about three times a year. He likes how fast and thorough the service is.

"That stuff can get everywhere and they make sure they get it all out of there," Somerlott said. "It's like they've been through there with a toothbrush."

Bradman's team has a seven-step process for cleaning a scene. Steps may change depending on whether the family is present, but first, they always survey the area.

After donning a special suit - which includes a hood, boot coverings, gloves, a full-face respirator and goggles - workers photograph everything.

They disinfect the areas with a specialized solution that kills hundreds of diseases, including HIV, herpes and Hepatitis B. Then, they collect the remains.

"That's the tissue, the brain matter, teeth, things like that," Bradman said.

"So essentially I'm walking around with a bucket and I'm scraping the brain matter or the skull fragments."

The group then rescrubs the surfaces and applies stain removing solution. The final step is spraying high pressure steam to destroy the foul smells.

Lawton resident Robert Packer remembers how completely Bradman's team cleaned a house where a death occurred. His neighbors told him about BioClean, so he hired Bradman.

When a death occurs, the family members have other things to worry about besides cleaning, Packer said. "He (Bradman) takes the customer right out of the picture and does everything," he said.