B&M Air Raid Sirens
| B&M Siren Manufacturing Company | |
 B&M's primary logo. | |
| Names | Bayless & Miles Siren Manufacturing Company
B&M Siren Manufacturing Company
B&M
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|---|---|
| Headquarters | 13620 Imperial Hwy, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 |
| Founded | 1913 |
| Products | Vehicular sirens
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The Bayless & Miles (B&M) Siren Manufacturing Company is a manufacturer of vehicular and stationary electric sirens, and is one of the oldest siren manufacturers, having been in business since 1913. While B&M currently only makes Siro-Drift vehicular sirens, B&M had extensive siren offerings in the early 20th century, ranging from tiny electric alarms to large air raid sirens. B&M was largely forgotten about in the late 20th century during the rise of electronic sirens but persevered into the modern day. Despite all of the challenges the company has faced, B&M still exists today and continues to offer sirens that outperform competitors, as well as restore older products.
History
Bayless & Miles (B&M) Siren Manufacturing Company was formed in 1913 by James Bayless and Lester Miles, who sought to create friction sirens for motorcycles. The 1st siren produced by B&M was a tiny friction-driven siren named the Model MC. Bayless would leave the company in 1921 after losing interest in sirens, signing over the rights to the company to Miles. B&M began making larger sirens as early as 1927; as World War II began and the Cold War loomed over the horizon, the demand for dual-tone civil defense sirens was rising to distinguish them from single tone fire sirens. B&M introduced a multitude of single and dual toned sirens, ranging from small single rotor sirens suitable for tiny communities to large dual rotor sirens suitable for big cities. B&M sirens had highly efficient rotor designs with curved rotor vanes, combined with screaming high tones that made for painfully loud sirens that could be heard for miles. B&M continued making larger sirens until around 1963 due to heightened competition from other companies with more resources, marketing, and endorsement—qualities which B&M did not have the resources to contend with.
Unfortunately, much information about the larger sirens B&M have been lost. B&M themselves lack any records detailing the production and history of these sirens, which they speculate is due to the records from that time period being confiscated by the United States government since the sirens were built for Civil Defense use. As a result, there is a lot of information that is now lost to time as it is unlikely the government still has these records. The B&M Siro-Drift line remained in production and outperformed competing sirens such as those made by the Sterling Siren Fire Alarm Company and Federal Signal. Unfortunately, in the 1980s many municipalities chose to switch to using electronic sirens instead of mechanical sirens to reduce the load on vehicular electric systems, which caused most customers to stop buying B&M's sirens. As a result, B&M became largely forgotten over the following decades with many believing B&M had gone out of business. In the 2000s, mechanical sirens saw a resurgence in popularity, but the 20 years that had passed caused most to forget B&M existed at all as those who knew of B&M began to retire.
Because of this, most stations instead went with other options. The company was inherited by B&M employee Kevin O'Connell in 1998, who ran the company until his untimely death from pancreatic cancer in 2019. Another employee named Brian currently runs the company. Despite the aforementioned challenges, B&M still exists today and relies on word of mouth for siren sales; their sirens outperform equivalent competitors and are hand-built in the United States—all products use almost exclusively American-built parts instead of outsourcing them from foreign nations and offer increased longevity and performance compared to other competing products. Along with this, B&M will restore any siren one presents to them.
Products
General Alarm (GA)
Model 6GA
The Model 6GA is the smallest option in the General Alarm (GA) product category, using only a single-sided ½ hp motor to drive a 6 inch 6-port rotor with a large clutch hub—shared with the Model 6FA friction siren—either above or below the motor. 2 bars bolted to the top and bottom stator plates in front of each stator port hold the stator assembly together and prevent debris from entering the rotor or injury from misuse. A cylindrical intake assembly is bolted to the stator. Model 6GA sirens with a motor-over-rotor configuration have exposed motors and 3 legs welded to the bottom of the rotor, with pegs on the base of each allowing the siren to be bolted to a flat surface. Model 6GA sirens with a rotor-over-motor configuration instead have a shielded motor and cylindrical assembly with a flat base and 4 pegs allowing the siren to be bolted to a flat surface. The motor-over-rotor configuration lacks a junction box while the rotor-over-motor configuration includes one incorporated into the motor case. Despite being so tiny and only running on 120 V, the Model 6GA is extremely loud for its size due to the efficient rotor design, with a privately owned unit reaching 130 dBa from up close. The Model 6GA sold under the air raid siren lineup was known as the Model 6-AR-1, branded as a siren for compact suburban areas. Model 6GA sirens were sold with bell shaped shrouds to cover the siren.
Model 8GA
The Model 8GA is the mid-sized option in the General Alarm (GA) product category, using a single-sided 1(?) hp motor to drive an 8 inch 8-port rotor with no clutch hub—shared with some B&M Siro-Drift offerings—either above or below the motor. 2 bars bolted to the top and bottom stator plates in front of each stator port hold the stator assembly together and prevent debris from entering the rotor or injury from misuse. A cylindrical intake assembly is bolted to the stator. Model 8GA sirens with a motor-over-rotor configuration have exposed motors and 3 legs welded to the bottom of the rotor, with pegs on the base of each allowing the siren to be bolted to a flat surface. Model 8GA sirens with a rotor-over-motor configuration instead have a shielded motor and cylindrical assembly with a flat base and 4 pegs allowing the siren to be bolted to a flat surface. The motor-over-rotor configuration lacks a junction box while the rotor-over-motor configuration includes one incorporated into the motor case. Despite being so tiny and only running on 120 V, the Model 8GA is extremely loud for its size due to the efficient rotor design. The Model 8GA sold under the air raid siren lineup was known as the Model 8-AR-1(?), branded as a siren for compact suburban areas. Model 8GA sirens were sold with bell shaped shrouds to cover the siren. Few are known to exist in the wild, as the larger 10GA was a more popular choice.
Model 10GA
The Model 10GA is the largest option in the General Alarm (GA) product category. Especially popular in Texas and surrounding states, the Model 10GA is 1 of B&M's more common outdoor sirens. The Model 10GA uses a single-sided 2½ hp motor to drive a 10 inch 8-port rotor with no clutch hub—shared with some B&M Siro-Drift offerings—either above or below the motor. 2 bars bolted to the top and bottom stator plates in front of each stator port hold the stator assembly together and prevent debris from entering the rotor or injury from misuse. A cylindrical intake assembly is bolted to the stator. Model 10GA sirens with a motor-over-rotor configuration have exposed motors and 3 legs welded to the bottom of the rotor, with pegs on the base of each allowing the siren to be bolted to a flat surface. Model 10GA sirens with a rotor-over-motor configuration instead have a shielded motor and cylindrical assembly with a flat base and 4 pegs allowing the siren to be bolted to a flat surface. The motor-over-rotor configuration lacks a junction box while the rotor-over-motor configuration includes one incorporated into the motor case. Despite being so tiny and only running on 120 V, the Model 10GA is extremely loud for its size due to the efficient rotor design. The Model 10GA sold under the air raid siren lineup was known as the Model 10-AR-2—being the second smallest siren of that line—branded as a siren for compact suburban areas. Model 10GA sirens were sold with bell shaped shrouds or with fully enclosed shrouds as the Model 10.
"Air Raid" (AR)
Model 15-AR-5
wip
Model 20-AR-7
The Model 20-AR-7 is the mid-sized option in the "Air Raid" (AR) product category. The Model 20-AR-7 uses a dual-sided 7½ hp motor—with small mounting bases on each side to secure the siren—to drive 2 18⅛ inch 8 and 10-port rotors inside 20 inch 16 and 20-port stators as a standard, and no remaining examples have a different port ratio. B&M also offered a single rotor version of this siren, called the Model 20(-AR). 4 have been documented, and at least 3 exist today. The rotor ports are all the same size as the stator ports. It is believed B&M opted for the unique rotor and stator configuration to create equal sound distribution out of the intakes and ports, leading to more uniform coverage and the creation of 2 octave tones. 1 bar bolted to the top and bottom stator plates in front of every other stator port hold the stator assembly together. A cylindrical intake assembly is bolted to both stators. Larger curved intake horns were optionally substituted for the standard intakes. The Model 20-AR-7 was best suited for large cities according to B&M. A few Model 20-AR-7 sirens still remain today, albeit inactive or under private ownership.
Model 20-AR-10/20AR10•2T
The Model 20-AR-10 or Model 20AR10•2T is the largest option in the "Air Raid" (AR) product category. The Model 20-AR-10 uses a dual-shafted 10 hp motor—with small mounting bases on each side to secure the siren—to drive 2 18⅛ inch 6 and 8-port or 14 and 16-port rotors inside 20 inch 16 and 20-port stators, longer than the Model 20-AR-7 rotors and stators but identical in diameter. It is unknown if more rotor and stator configurations were offered. The rotor ports are all the same size as the stator ports. It is believed B&M opted for the unique rotor and stator configuration to create equal sound distribution out of the intakes and ports, leading to more uniform coverage and the creation of 2 octave tones. 1 bar bolted to the top and bottom stator plates in front of every other stator port hold the stator assembly together. A cylindrical intake assembly is bolted to both stators. It is unknown if intake horns were available for the Model 20-AR-10. The 20-AR-10 was best suited for widespread metropolitan areas, according to B&M. 6 examples of this model are known to remain today, at B&M headquarters (which is an incomplete example with only 1 14-port rotor and the motor), a Stanton, CA fire station (formerly a fire siren now on display), Sierra Madre, CA (which was reactivated in January 2019 and tests quarterly on the last Tuesday at 12:00 PM), Carlisle, PA, Perris, CA, and Mojave Desert Historical & Cultural Association in Goffs, CA.
Model H
Model 15-H-2
The Model 15-H-2 is the smallest option in the H product category. The Model 15-H-2 uses a dual-sided 3 hp US motor—with small mounting bases on each side to secure the siren—to drive 2 ~13 inch 6-port rotors inside 15 inch 12 stators as a standard, and no remaining examples have a different port ratio. The rotor ports are all the same size as the stator ports. It is believed B&M opted for the unique rotor and stator configuration to create a heavier undertone. 1 bar bolted to the top and bottom stator plates in front of each stator port hold the stator assembly together. A cylindrical intake assembly is bolted to both stators. The Model 15-H-2 siren's poor price to performance ratio compared to other models made it an unpopular choice, being only $50 less than the Model 15-H-4 at the time. No examples are known to exist today.
Model 15-H-4
The Model 15-H-4 is the mid-sized option in the H product category. The Model 15-H-4 uses a dual-sided 5 hp US motor—with small mounting bases on each side to secure the siren—to drive 2 ~13 inch 6-port rotors inside 15 inch 12 stators as a standard, longer than the Model 15-H-2 rotors and stators but identical in diameter. No remaining examples have a different port ratio. The rotor ports are all the same size as the stator ports. It is believed B&M opted for the unique rotor and stator configuration to create a heavier undertone. All Model 15-H-4 sirens known to exist have flanges behind each stator for stator coverings to be attached. 1 bar bolted to the top and bottom stator plates in front of each stator port hold the stator assembly together. A cylindrical intake assembly is bolted to both stators. Some Model 15-H-4 sirens have intakes larger in diameter than that of the Model 15-H-2; the larger intake examples generally come with a larger U.S. motor. The Model 15-H-4 is the most common H siren as it was much cheaper than the Model 18-H-7 but only slightly more than the Model 15-H-2. It is believed that the Model 15-H-4 was the same as the Model 15-AR-5 with little to no changes.
Model 18-H-7
The Model 18-H-7 is the largest option in the H product category. The Model 18-H-7 uses a dual-sided 10 hp US motor—with small mounting bases on each side to secure the siren—to drive 2 rotors inside 18 inch 12 stators. It presumably used the same offset rotor and stator port configuration like the rest of the Model H sirens to create a heavier undertone. Little is known about the Model 18-H-7 as it likely never sold well due to being double the price of a Model 15-H-4. None have ever been documented, and none are known to exist today.
Vertical siren
B&M allegedly produced an omnidirectional vertical siren in the 1920s. These use an 8-port rotor and stator of unknown width and are driven by a single-sided AC motor below the stator with a junction box attached. The stator ports lack horizontal bars due to the single-piece stator. 3 mounting legs below the motor attached to a central ring suspend the siren and have lugs at the bases which allow the entire assembly to be bolted to a flat surface. 2 skirts (1 above and 1 below the stator) shield the siren from the elements and propagate sound outwards and downwards. As these were likely prone to damage, detaching, or simply degrading with age, 1 of these sirens in Silver Springs, NV can be seen with a rudimentary modification to further protect the intake/stator. The stator is further protected by a tiny triangular rain shield—either held up by support brackets or a dedicated cylindrical intake—bolted to the top of the stator. 4 known examples of these sirens are known to have existed at some point in time, although only 2 are still extant. All but 1 of these exist outside of California.
Steam powered siren
B&M produced at least 1 steam powered siren for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) Railway in San Bernardino, California for use at their freight railyards. This 7-port siren has a turbine in the rear which drives the rotor to roughly 4,500 rpm when supplied with steam from the railroad shop it was mounted on. It was expected to be audible as far as 6 miles away in Highland, CA, but whether or not that was met is unknown. One of these sirens was once located on top of a building in the railroad's San Bernardino yard and was used for air raid and general alarms, before being taken out of service and donated to a museum.