Did the siren ever go off for a fire?

Hey.. thats great stuff. Its refreshing to read another persons account of something and have them mention when they are not positive about a specific name or size.. great work Ron.. This thread you started is very informative and I thank you!

Quick question... How far away was the area that they baked the paint on the cars? How was the heat generated and how did they prevent that area from ever interacting with the fume filled paint area? Like fire to The Scarecrow I would imagine

DR,

It did make you apprehensive about working in there. But after a while you got used to it. I worked in there many times helping out, but I did make sure to remember where the door exits were at all times. No matter where I was in the building, I never lost sight of that fact.

Steve,

No, not that I ever heard about in the 19 years I worked in that plant. They did test the sirens, and closing of the doors remotely once in a while. But could not spray test the chemicals, of course. I think, and this is a guess on my part, it would take a substantial fire to set it off. Because of what it would do if it ever went off. And the enormous financial losses to thousands of gallons of paint and expensive equipment. As well as the risk to human life. Up in the ceiling you could see fire detectors, similar to water spray systems. Only they were fire monitors and did not have any water outlets on them. Also on the same ceilings you could see the large spray outlets for the chemical that would be released in to the room if the system went off. The sensitivity is unknown to me. I never got in to that discussion with anyone. I did see large tanks outside full of the chemical that would be released into the building though. There were at least two, possibly three tanks. Don't recall for sure. But even one held a huge amount of chemical in it.

Tom,

Thanks, it's always a pleasure on my end too. I enjoy contributing to the group what I have personal knowledge of in the plants.

The ovens, that were very hot, between 375 - 425 degrees, were a ways from the booths. The heat was generated a great deal from electric heating elements. At least that was what was in the beginning of each oven. Now deeper in to the ovens, I believe the main heat source was natural gas. I have no proof of that, but I used to check the temp settings in the oven from time to time as a supervisor. The gauges were mounted in a control room out of the roof of the building. If for some reason the paint was not looking right, or didn't appear to be baked as hard as usual, leaving deeper sand scratches when sanded. I would assume, if it was all electrical heating elements all the way through. Unless an element burnt out, the heating temps would've always been very consistent. Also, I don't believe electrical heat would've been able to reach the temps necessary to bake the paint right. Or cure the paint properly. Electrical at the beginning was to preset the paint, and stop any dust from getting in it right away. Deeper in the ovens would get pretty bad, and had to be cleaned regularly by maintenance.

From where the booths ended, and the cars left to enter the oven(s), (in the 60's). There was a 2 - 4 car length gap. Sort of a buffer zone. Like going in to a restaurant in states that have frigid weather, (double door entries). In that gap there was, in most cases, air movement. Like a gentle vacuum movement. Not enough to cause dirt movement, but more than likely enough to keep heat from the ovens from entering the spray booth area. It may have been the heat movement inward, drawing the air in, as the heat was circulated. But it was definite air movement. Also, the moat that held the water under the painter's grate flooring in the booths, ended at the end of the spray booth. And between where it ended and the ovens, there was a huge gap from concrete floor base to the ceiling from when the monorail was suspended holding the car bodies in the air. At that point you could actually walk under the car bodies. I walked all over that plant, it all fascinated me. I did the same thing in Oakland. But that plant was extremely old. I heard rumors it was condemned three years before they shut it down. Also a rumor, they got permission to keep it open while the Fremont plant was completed.

I saw this picture while searching for a final line shot of the inspection window stickers. Thought I would explain a little about what the body drop is, how it worked, and what happens some times in this photo. This is a photo of the GMAD final assembly line in Fremont, California. Where the body is mated to the chassis by an operator which is on the second floor. Looking at the photo, you would be standing on one of the steel conveyor belts on which one side of the tires of the completed chassis are resting. Right above your head is the operator with the hoist that will pick up the completed paint/trim body and drop it down to meet up with the chassis.

Where the second floor operator is standing there is a huge opening in the floor. About 2 - 2 1/2 car lengths long, (just an estimate from having seen it). The operator has two hand held controls, one in each hand. It allows him to lift the car off the overhead monorail from where it is resting on a body truck. Once he has lifted it off the body truck from which it sat on, he releases the monorail carrier and it leaves his area. He is now holding the body in mid air above the first floor over the pit below. Right above the heads of the two operators in the pit below.

All in one continuous motion, he lifts the car, releases the carrier. Moves the body forward enough to just clear the opening in the ceiling. Once it clears that point he drops it down very quickly to just above the chassis. In the pit area are two other operators. Each has a long steel rod that comes to a point. Allowing them to stick them through the chassis in two diagonal locations. Lining them up with the holes in the body where two bolts from the chassis would secure the body to the chassis location points. When they have the body lined up with the chassis, and the guy seen on the left has the speedo cable and wiring harnesses out of the way, they will shout out to the operator that has control of the body, "Drop!". Some times they say other things, but you get the idea. At hearing that, the operator lets the body all the way down very quickly. The operators hit the release button(s), the cage clamps holding the car up swing open and out, and the overhead operator takes the cage back up for the next body. Remember, all of this happens in about one minute, depending on the line speed at that time.

There has been a few occasions where the body fell off the hoist and down to the chassis. As far as I am aware of, no one was injured. Everyone was well aware a body was coming down from the second floor and to be mindful of that. In the pit the two operators could not run off if it fell. But because it could not reach them, they would be okay anyway. They were deep in the pits, and had to reach up above their heads to put in all the bolts necessary to securely fix the body to the chassis. And there was a completed chassis and suspension between them and the falling body. But, I bet when it happened on those few occasions, they may have had to change a few shorts. Can you imagine a car body falling about 25 - 40 feet hitting the chassis just above your head? If you look just above the guy on the right, you can see the yellow guard rail surrounding the opening in the ceiling. The operator of the hoist would stand next to, or lean, on the side railing looking down as he lowered the body.

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