Cleanup part of healing process at ACA

By: Neil St. Clair

ENDWELL, N.Y. -- It's the kind of job nobody wants to get called to do, but it must be done so life can move on.

"We've been involved in triple homicides, but never the amount of people involved in this. All these cases are tough, but this may have been the worst one," said Jim Coyle, owner of Disaster Clean-Up service in Endwell.

Coyle is a lifelong Broome County resident and a veteran of crime scene biohazard removal. He was charged with the cleanup last Sunday after the 13 senseless murders at the American Civic Association.

It's a scene that affected him as it affected many people in the area.

"I wouldn't wish this on anybody to walk in and see this, even the first responders."

The grisly job took Coyle and his crew around six hours, but helped the ACA reopen its doors and get back to its business of helping immigrants become Americans.

Cleanup part of healing process at ACA
After all the pain surrounding the shootings at the American Civic Association, the community has begun to heal. As our Neil St. Clair explains, several local businesses have donated their time and services to help everyone in that process.

What would normally have cost thousands of dollars, Coyle did for free, a service to help his community heal.

"We wanted to do something. There was enough suffering involved here. It just didn't seem right to profit from something like this."

Coyle was one of the first non-emergency personnel to enter the building.

His job is normally thankless, evaporating the tangible memories of some horrible moment. But this one was different, and several people have offered praise for the work he's done.

"You don't really take pride in something like this, but after you see the look on people's faces after you do this, that's what keeps you going back, somebody has to do this."

And though it's tough to wipe away the horror he's witnessed, he, like this community, is trying to push ahead. "Just go on with my life...nothing out of the ordinary...just another day."

Coyle teamed up with BioRecovery Corporation based in New York City as part of a collaboration with the nonprofit American Bio-Recovery Association.