Unattended Death and Trauma Cleanup in West Dayton

What the 45417 ZIP covers

ZIP 45417 covers Westwood between Gettysburg Avenue, US 35 and Wolf Creek; Residence Park near Thurgood Marshall High School and the VA campus; Edgemont between I-75, US 35, Nicholas Road and Danner Avenue; and the Stoney Ridge and Little Richmond neighborhoods in the West Third Street and Germantown Pike corridors.

Beyond the city line, 45417 also reaches into parts of Trotwood, Drexel, Moraine and Jefferson Township. All of those places are in Montgomery County, so a property anywhere in this ZIP uses the same (937) number.

A few landmarks help place an address inside 45417. The Wesley Community Center and Westwood Elementary serve Westwood, Burkham Park and Welcome Stadium sit on the Edgemont side, and Carillon Historic Park is listed among the parks near Edgemont. Mention whichever is closest when you describe the property.

Bungalows, Cape Cods and Foursquares

Westwood is the second-largest neighborhood in Dayton, bounded by Gettysburg Avenue, US 35 and Wolf Creek. Its streets are lined with single-story bungalows and Cape Cods, typically about 1,100 square feet on small lots. The area also holds the Daniel Miller House, built in 1808 and counted among the region's oldest homes.

Residence Park, northwest of where Gettysburg Avenue meets West Third Street, mixes ranch houses with American Foursquares, and Edgemont, closer to the river and the Moraine line, has Foursquares, Cape Cods and ranches with an occasional apartment building.

One-floor homes simplify some parts of a cleanup, since there are no stairs to carry materials down. They also mean bedrooms, the bathroom and the living room share a small footprint, so odor from an unattended death can reach every room. In a Westwood bungalow, expect the provider to look at carpet pad, subfloor and duct runs across the house, beyond the one room where the person died.

Edgemont's average home is close to 1,100 square feet on a lot of about a tenth of an acre, much like Westwood's. With houses that compact, the physical work may take fewer visits than a large Dayton View home would, but the drying and deodorizing steps still need time.

US 35, I-75 and Wolf Creek

US 35 forms an edge of both Westwood and Edgemont, and I-75 closes off Edgemont's east side near the river. Gettysburg Avenue borders Westwood and passes Residence Park, and West Third Street leads back toward Wright-Dunbar and downtown.

Wolf Creek forms Westwood's northern boundary and the Great Miami River runs past Edgemont. Nicholas Road is Edgemont's commercial strip, and Miami Chapel Road holds the Edgemont Solar Gardens greenhouse. Naming the nearest of these streets helps a provider plan the route to the house.

West Patrol, the coroner and the people left to decide

Dayton police calls on the west side are handled by the West Patrol Operations Division. Deaths go to the Montgomery County Coroner, whose office sits at the downtown end of the same West Third Street corridor that the west-side neighborhoods grew along.

Some 45417 addresses are outside the city: portions of the ZIP lie in Trotwood, Drexel, Moraine and Jefferson Township, and a different police agency responds there. The coroner's role is the same everywhere in Montgomery County.

When the scene is released, the cleanup decision passes to whoever controls the house. For a long-time Westwood homeowner, that may be a son or daughter acting as executor. For a rental on a Residence Park side street, it is the landlord, who should also contact the tenant's next of kin about belongings.

The Dayton Veterans Affairs campus sits just south of Residence Park. If the person who died was a veteran, the family may also be dealing with the VA on benefits and burial, which is separate from the cleanup. Keeping one folder for the coroner's case number, the police report and the VA paperwork helps the executor later.

Neighborhood groups and outside help

West Dayton has active neighborhood associations, including the Westwood Collaborative Network and the Residence Park association, which runs community cleanups and a National Night Out event. A family living out of town may find that a neighbor from one of these groups can hold a key or keep an eye on the house while the work is scheduled.

Westwood's place in Dayton's funk music history, with about 21 groups tied to the neighborhood, is a point of pride on the west side. When a Westwood house passes to heirs, the cleanup is often the first step before a sale, a rental, or a move back home, so ask the provider to set aside records, albums and photos.

After a crime in 45417, an eligible victim can ask the state Attorney General's office to repay as much as $750 of the scene cleaning. Keep the West Patrol report number and every receipt. The program's staff answer at 614-466-5610 or toll-free at 800-282-0515.