Stars and Bars RestorationWe talk a lot about IICRC certifications on this blog — Master Water Restorer, AMRT for mold, FSRT for fire and smoke — because we think homeowners deserve to know what's actually behind the "IICRC certified" line on a company's website. One certification that doesn't get talked about as much, but matters just as much on a real job site, is HST: Health and Safety Technician.
HST isn't a specialty like water or fire or mold. It's the certification that governs how safely a crew does any of that work — which, if you think about it, is arguably more important than the technical skill itself. A technician who knows exactly how to remediate mold but doesn't understand respiratory protection, bloodborne pathogen exposure, or confined space hazards is a liability to themselves and to your home.
What the HST certification actually covers
Based on the official IICRC HST curriculum, the course trains technicians on:
- OSHA regulations — recordkeeping, inspections, citations, and the regulatory framework that governs job site safety
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) — when respirators, gloves, suits, and eye protection are actually required versus just a good idea
- Hazard Communication and the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) — reading chemical labels and Safety Data Sheets correctly
- Bloodborne pathogens — critical for biohazard, trauma, and sewage cleanup, where exposure to bacteria and viruses is a real risk
- Airborne hazards — smoke, mold spores, and other microbial contaminants that crews breathe in during restoration work
- Electrical safety — a real concern in flooded structures where wiring may be compromised
- Confined spaces — crawl spaces, attics, and tight mechanical rooms common in restoration work
- Hierarchy of controls and engineering controls — the standard safety framework for eliminating or reducing hazards before relying on PPE as a last resort
In short, HST is less about how to dry a wall and more about how not to get hurt, get someone else hurt, or make a contamination problem worse while drying that wall.
Why this matters more than it sounds like it should
Restoration work looks straightforward from the outside — pull out wet carpet, run some fans, maybe cut some drywall. In practice, a lot of the jobs we get called for involve real hazards that an untrained crew can walk right into:
Sewage and biohazard jobs. Anytime a crew is dealing with sewage backup, trauma cleanup, or contaminated flood water — like the ongoing Arkansas River contamination situation — bloodborne pathogen awareness and correct PPE aren't optional extras. They're the difference between a safe cleanup and a crew member getting sick.
Fire and smoke jobs. Burned structures can have compromised electrical systems, unstable framing, and airborne particulate that requires respiratory protection — not just a dust mask from the hardware store.
Mold remediation. Technicians without proper training can cross-contaminate a home by disturbing mold without containment, spreading spores into previously unaffected rooms — and can expose themselves to health risks in the process.
Older Southern Colorado homes. A lot of the housing stock we work in — around Walsenburg, Trinidad, Cañon City, and the smaller mountain towns — is decades old. That can mean asbestos-containing materials, lead paint, or knob-and-tube wiring, all of which change how a job needs to be approached safely.
What it means when a company tells you their techs are HST certified
It means the people in your home understand:
- How to correctly identify a hazard before it becomes a problem — not after someone's already exposed to it
- Which PPE is actually needed for the specific job, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach
- How to keep a job site safe for themselves, for your family, and for your pets while work is happening
- How to avoid turning a contained problem (say, mold in one bathroom) into a spread-out one because containment wasn't done correctly
It's not a flashy credential. Nobody asks "is your crew HST certified?" the way they ask about water damage or mold experience. But it's part of what separates a company that treats safety as a real discipline from one that's just moving fast and hoping nothing goes wrong.
Ask about it — most homeowners never do
When you're vetting a restoration company after a loss, most people ask about response time, insurance billing, and price. Those matter. But it's worth asking a simple follow-up: "Are your technicians trained in job site health and safety, not just the specific type of damage?" A company that can answer that confidently, and explain what it means, is a company that's thought about your safety beyond just getting the job done fast.
We built our team around IICRC training because we don't think "good enough" cleanup is good enough when it's your home and your family. As a veteran-owned, IICRC-certified company, we bring that same discipline — assess the hazard, control it, then do the work — to every job, from a straightforward water damage call to a complicated biohazard cleanup.
If you've got a situation that feels like it might involve more than just water or mold — sewage, fire damage, an old structure with unknown hazards — call us at (719) 676-2456 and we'll walk you through what a safe cleanup actually looks like before we ever set foot in your home. You can also reach us anytime at services@sb-resto.com.