it no longer exists as it has been bought sold and merged several times over the decades since I worked for them.
I went to there offices in Green Tree at Parkway Center West office building 7# via Public bus and then walked to the offices about 1/4 mile away.
I started this job after running into a class mate who was working for them while going to trade school like I did and he said it was a good way to work on weekend to make money and be able to study in between breaks etc and still be able to give 100% during the week to school . I never saw him after that in fact 98% of all the people I ever worked for as a security guard with I have never run into again in my life for I found out some of the biggest Losers ,Liars, Braggarts,Tattletales and Thieves you would ever want to meet work in security.
Almost all of the places I worked are gone as well including the buildings in many cases. Now nothing more than a memory. Some company's still exist just not in Pittsburgh any more
I put in my application was called 3 days later was asked a couple questions sent to the dispatch office which was full of alarm monitoring meters etc, and was given a uniform and put on my first assignment with no training what so ever. Start at $2.25 and hour as an Unarmed Guard
It was ## American Forge in the old Pressed Steel Car Plant in McKees Rocks bottoms section.Which was the scene of very violent strike which killed several workers in early 1900's
it was a 12 hour shift Saturday and Sunday 12pm to 12am I took 2 buses and walked about 1/2 mile to get there
They made giant crane hooks used in long wall mining and ratcheting binders for holding down loads on trucks.
It consisted of an office and plant building which had 2 huge heating ovens .
I followed the guard manual which was also the log and tour book and was shown what to watch and check on by the guard I relieved. Which included touring the plant once an hour and calling the Burns dispatch center every2 hours to tell them I was safe
I would later find out after talking to a guy I worked with at Holmes Protection this policy came about after a burns guard working a weekend long shift at a now gone brick making plant in the Hayes section of Pittsburgh now the parking lot for Sand Castle Water Park after the guard fell a couple hours into his shift breaking a leg and laying all weekend no help and fighting off rats.
Stan found him after an alarm went off at the plant.
Funny how things work out because shortly after going to work for burns they sold there alarm division in Pittsburgh to Holmes Protection and burns went back to not checking on guards as often and put what was left of the supervisors on the road checking on guards.
Things at the plant went pretty well I was there a few weeks when I went to a training class for Burns and they discussed all the tings we needed to know to work as a guard. During the class I found out Burns was even involved with big deals like security for the nuclear reactor in Shipping port and providing security for the US Open in Oakmont country club. I worked for about 3 months at the plant never any problems till one afternoon I came in and started my tour there where still some workers finishing up some weekend maintenance work when I heard a loud noise which sounded like gas escaping I was right it was natural gas but it was like pulling teeth to get any one to take care of it. Then the next weekend there was an oxygen leak near the furnaces again nothing but crumbles and then management said they did not want me in the plant any more. One of the supervisors was so mad he said screw them thats what they pay us for is to make sure there plant is safe and this is what they do, and he got me a nice job out in McKee's Rocks watching a trucking company site . ## American Forge would go on to have serious fire etc, and the plant was closed in 80's when the steel mills went down. it was bound to happen management who did not give a shit and workers who cared even less. One of the kids from my neighborhood dad worked as an electrician in the plant and lost his job. he was never the same after that.
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| American forge located in green steel buildings along river |
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| Green Buildings where American forge |
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