BlueReady guide · Reviewed by Marshall, leads blueready in milwaukee and brookfield · Updated October 2026
What to do after a death at home in Milwaukee
Call 911 first. Police and the medical examiner will come, take care of your loved one and release the home. After that, cleaning falls to the family or property owner.
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Quick answerAfter a death at home in Milwaukee, call 911 unless the person was in hospice. Police respond and the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner investigates. Once the home is released, the family or owner arranges cleanup. Don’t clean it yourself. A biohazard crew like ours can be dispatched within 20 minutes.
Step by step
The first hours and days
Call 911
Even if the death was expected, call 911 unless your loved one was under hospice care. In Milwaukee, police respond. In the suburbs it’s your city or village police, or the county sheriff.
The medical examiner
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner investigates sudden and unattended deaths in the county. Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth and Jefferson counties each have their own medical examiner.
Choose a funeral home
The funeral home coordinates with the medical examiner to bring your loved one into their care. You don’t have to decide everything right away.
Call for cleanup when the home is released
Please don’t try to clean it yourself. Call us and we’ll dispatch within 20 minutes, explain the plan before anything starts, and bill insurance directly.
Secure the home and notify family
Lock up, pause mail if needed, and let close family know. In a rental, notify the landlord. In a duplex, let the other unit know someone will be checking their ceiling.
Important
Why you shouldn't clean it yourself
When a death isn’t discovered right away, bodily fluids soak into flooring, subfloor and plaster. They can carry bloodborne pathogens, and the odor keeps coming back unless the source is removed.
Professional cleanup protects your family’s health, supports your insurance claim, and spares you from seeing things no one should have to see.
Techs on standby now
Need help now?
If cleanup is what you need next, call and we’ll explain everything. 20 minute dispatch, no money up front.
- On call day or night, answered by our own crew
- 20 minute dispatch, ready to clean on arrival
- No money up front, ever. We bill insurance directly
Who to call
Numbers in one place
Checked October 2026. In an emergency, always call 911.
933 W. Highland Ave., Milwaukee. Investigates sudden and unattended deaths in the county.
Call or text 988, any time
Professional recommendations
Tips from our techs
Practical advice from the people who do this work every week.
Call 911 even if expected
Unless your loved one was under hospice care, police and the medical examiner need to be called.
Find important papers
Look for a will, insurance policies and any prepaid funeral plan. Funeral homes will ask.
Know your funeral rights
Under the FTC Funeral Rule, funeral homes must give you an itemized price list. You can choose only what you want.
Protect the home
Lock up, stop mail and remove valuables if the home will be empty.
Don't clean it yourself
If the death wasn’t found right away, call a professional. It protects your health and the insurance claim.
Lean on people
Let friends handle meals, calls and errands. You don’t have to do this alone.
Helpful links
Trusted outside resources
Official agencies and organizations we point families to. We have no paid relationship with any of them.
city.milwaukee.gov/police · non-emergency (414) 933-4444
933 W. Highland Ave., Milwaukee · county.milwaukee.gov
FAQ
Questions families ask us
Still have a question? Call 414-961-2034 any time. You’ll talk to someone on our Milwaukee crew.
Not the police, the medical examiner or the funeral home. Once your loved one is removed and the home is released, cleanup falls to the family or property owner. A trained biohazard crew like ours handles it so you don’t have to.
Often, yes. Many homeowners and renters policies cover sudden, accidental events, but every policy is different. We look at your coverage with you and bill the insurance company directly, so you’re not dealing with the adjuster alone.
We set aside photos, papers, jewelry and keepsakes, clean them whenever they can be safely cleaned, and always ask you before anything is thrown away.
Many jobs take one to a few days. If time passed before discovery, it can take longer because of material removal and odor treatment. You get a clear plan on the first visit, with no guesswork.
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You don't have to handle this alone
Call now and our Milwaukee crew will walk you through what happens next and dispatch a tech within 20 minutes. Day or night. No money up front, ever.