Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Northside, Camp Washington and South Fairmount

Homes, flats and factory lofts

Northside housing runs from frame cottages and brick doubles to Victorian houses on the side streets off Hamilton Avenue. Many have basements that sit close to the Mill Creek floodplain, so moisture can make odor work harder.

In Camp Washington, small houses sit right next to industrial buildings, and some loft units are in converted plants. In the Fairmounts and Millvale, most homes were built before 1970 and most are rented, which puts property managers and out-of-town owners in charge of decisions.

District 3 and the county coroner

Northside and Camp Washington joined Cincinnati Police District 3 once the old District 5 was folded in late 2023. District 3 already covered South and North Fairmount, Millvale, English Woods and South Cumminsville, so all of this page now sits in one district.

Deaths that need investigation are handled by the Hamilton County Coroner, whose office has been in Blue Ash since 2021. Investigators release the person to a funeral home and return personal effects. From there, whoever owns, rents out or inherited the Northside or Camp Washington property decides on cleanup.

Three ZIP codes along the Mill Creek

ZIP 45223 is the Northside ZIP. It takes in the Hamilton Avenue business district and Hoffner Park, South Cumminsville on the other side of I-74, and the northern end of Camp Washington.

ZIP 45214 covers South Fairmount along the restored Lick Run, most of North Fairmount on the hillside above it, the southern part of Camp Washington near the American Sign Museum, and a western edge of the West End near I-75.

ZIP 45225 is mostly residential. It holds Millvale and English Woods, the upper streets of North Fairmount, parts of South Cumminsville and South Fairmount, and the western edge of Camp Washington. Census data for 45225 show about 72 percent of households renting, in housing built mostly in the 1940s and 1950s.

Interchanges, viaducts and the valley floor

I-74 ends at I-75 at the edge of Northside and Camp Washington, an interchange Ohio rebuilt over several years starting in 2018. The Western Hills Viaduct, built in 1930-32 and about 3,500 feet long, crosses I-75 and the valley toward the West Side.

Spring Grove Avenue runs north through Camp Washington past the restored American Can building in Northside. Narrow hillside streets in North Fairmount and English Woods can be hard for large trucks, so describe the street and parking when you call.

Next steps for renters and landlords here

Because so many homes in 45225 and 45214 are rented, the first call after a release is usually to the landlord or management office. Ask for confirmation in writing about who is paying and when the tenant's belongings can be removed.

If someone was hurt in a crime, District 3 can give you the report number the state asks for. With it, an eligible victim may get back some of the cost of cleaning a Hamilton Avenue or Colerain Avenue home from the Attorney General's office, which caps each claim at $750.

What makes this corner of the city different

Northside started as Cumminsville, named for settler David Cummins, and joined Cincinnati in 1873. When I-74 was built in the early 1970s it split the old village, and the northern half became Northside. Today it is known for independent shops, Hoffner Park events and a Fourth of July parade.

Camp Washington hosted the first Ohio State Fair in 1850 and trained more than 5,500 soldiers for the Mexican-American War. Its 1,234 residents in 2020 share the neighborhood with meat processors, machine shops and arts groups in reused factories.

South Fairmount, once called Cincinnati's Little Italy, now centers on the Lick Run Greenway, a $103 million project finished in 2021 that brought a buried stream back to the surface.

Neighbors here tend to know each other, and the Northside business strip on Hamilton Avenue is small enough that word travels fast. Families who want privacy can ask the cleanup company for unmarked vehicles and a work plan that keeps the front door closed.