Company helps police keep it clean
Navajo Times | Arlyssa Becenti
Durango-based Four Corners Clean donated their services to the Navajo Nation Police Department.
WINDOW ROCK
Durango-based Four Corners Clean this week gave the Navajo Nation Police a much-needed donation of service to decontaminate police headquarters.
Chief Phillip Francisco said they’ve been waiting for the Health Command Operations Center to help decontaminate police districts for the past several weeks, and when Four Corners Clean reached out he was happy to accept. “This is a huge help,” said Francisco. “This puts our staff’s minds at ease that they can actually work in a safe environment. They don’t have to worry about being contaminated.”
So far 20 Navajo police employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and another seven are in quarantine awaiting results. The Chinle station and the information management system had to close down completely because of COVID-19 among the staff. On the plus side, 218 employees have tested negative.
For the past several weeks the Navajo Nation Police have carried out the Navajo Department of Health orders, including the daily night curfew and 57-hour weekend curfews. The department has struggled to find enough personal protective equipment for staff along with the dollars to decontaminate its buildings. “What we are doing is spraying and wiping down surfaces with atomized solutions,” said Matthew Cranston, co-owner of Four Corners Clean. “What that means is we are taking disinfectant that you would normally buy over the counter and breaking it up into fine particles so it mists an entire area.”
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This mist will blanket the air as well as getting on top and inside all surfaces. This procedure has been proven by the Environmental Protection Agency to kill the COVID-19 virus, said Cranston. “Our ultimate goal is to keep these guys safe so they can just keep on kicking a–,” said Cranston. After decontaminating the Window Rock District, Four Corners Clean plans to clean hard-hit areas such as the Chinle Police District.
“We live in the satellite communities that is also being affected,” said Cranston. “We are in operation out there as well. We know it’s not going away and it only keeps spreading within the Navajo Nation, so we are trying to do our part to lower those numbers.” Four Corners Clean is available for hire to go to homes, chapter houses, tribal offices, schools and businesses with decontamination services.
The approach the cleaning company is taking is a proven method and one that is also used in the White House, said Cranston. The Navajo Nation government has been closed for almost two months and soon businesses will begin opening up, even with numbers continuing to increase. Josh Yazzie, co-owner of Four Corners Clean, said the company’s goal is to keep people safe as they start to resume normal lives.
“When people start returning back to work it will be safe and they will have that blanket of security knowing that there is no virus or bacteria in the building,” said Yazzie. “You just have to keep clean, and keep a good hygiene going, and keep everyone healthy and safe — that is our main goal.”
Information: fourcornersclean.com
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow