Holocaust Revisionism - Level II

Cremation Capacity Tales Debunked by Physics [ Part 3]

Lagacé next took the jury through the Operations of Cremation
Equipment Manual which set out operating procedures for crematories.

The manual warned the operator, for the first case of the day, to "check and see that the ash tray is installed in the ash pit" and warned that "failure to have the ash tray installed can cause/or result in fire outside the Retort!" (27-7407: Manual filed as Exhibit 105 at 27-7422) )

Lagacé explained the importance of this procedure, especially in the case of obese cases, where incomplete combustion of body fats occurred. In such an event, the burning body fats dripped into the waterproof ash pan and continued to burn there. If the ash pan wasn't there, however, the fluid would leak outside of the retort and cause a fire outside the crematory. (27- 7407, 7408)

After checking for the ash pan, an operator started the preheat cycle for the afterburn chamber. This chamber was heated to create or establish the draft in the stack. The preheat cycle took approximately twenty minutes to reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit. After the preheating, the fuel (human remains) was introduced into the ignition chamber on rollers, the main burner ignited and the cremation process commenced. (27-7408, 7409, 7410)

Lagacé pointed out that the Manual contained the warning that: "Use of any metal type roller will cause excessive wear on the floor tile and shorten the life period of the floor tile." He explained that the refractory tiles used on the floor of the ignition chamber tended to wear out very quickly because of the wear and tear of the rollers and because this was where the fuel ignited and burned. Lagacé himself had worn out floor titles after only 250 cremations by using metal rollers. Once the wear started it was extremely difficult to stop. (27-7410, 7411)

To repair the unit in such circumstances the operator had to cease operation of the retort, allow the machine 48 hours of cooling down time with the door fully open, and preferably with a fan flowing through the machine. The bricks or tiling then had to be removed and new ones cemented. The average life expectancy of floor refractory was 1,500 cremations. The bricks of the retort's walls and ceilings were rated for 3,000 cremations while the bricks of the afterburn chamber were rated for roughly 2,000 cremations. (27-7411)
The time to cremate a human being (the cremation cycle) took an average of two hours. After the first cremation of the day was completed, the operator must let the retort cool-down for a minimum of one hour before beginning the second case. After the second cremation, a cool- down period of at least two hours was required. Even with cool-down times, Lagacé testified that cremations could not be done "24 hours a day, round the clock, day after day...the refractory will not tolerate it." Factory recommendation for normal operation was a maximum of three cases per day in a normal eight hour work day. No more than 50 -- 60 cases should be processed in any month so that the refractory life was prolonged. That was an average of 2 cases a day. (27-7412 to 7415; 7427, 7428)

There was no way to speed up this process, Lagacé testified, without effecting the refractory brick and endangering the life of the operator. If no cool-down period was allowed between cremations, the temperature would go out of control and probably exceed the 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit rated for the bricks. This would cause excessive spalling, or flaking, of the bricks. Secondly, the operator could not safely open a retort having an internal temperature of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. "I have to allow for cool-down time, for my safety," said Lagacé, "and to bring the temperature in the retort to a point where there is safe loading of the next case." (27- 7412, 7413)

Lagacé testified that he had "burned my hair and my face often enough to learn that I don't attempt to open the door when the temperatures are excessive. It just can't be done, unless perhaps you are wearing a full asbestos suit. From my experience with asbestos garment, they prevent flame from contacting you, but they still get very hot." (27-7414)

Lagacé emphasized the real dangers involved if the cool-down periods were not followed. If an operator attempted to introduce a body into the retort when temperatures were still excessive, a "flash ignition" could occur whereby the body would ignite before it was fully introduced into the retort. In such a case, the operator would be
engulfed in flames from the burning body and would be unable to close the door to the retort. To put it simply, he said, "you can basically walk away and watch your building burn down." (27-7415,

Lagacé introduced a sample brick into evidence which the jury was allowed to handle. The brick was extremely light and brittle making it
an extremely good insulator, but also very delicate: "I could take an ordinary handsaw and cut it in half." The brick was able to withstand 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit, and was therefore a little better than the average firebrick. (27-7422, 7423, 7424; brick entered as Exh. 106 at
27-7423)

In a new crematory, the new refractory brick had to be cured or driedout during a break- in cycle of one cremation per day for 25 days. If this number was exceeded, refractory failure would certainly be caused. (27-7428)

During normal cremations, there was some flaking of brick, wearing it from the inside to the outside. If the brick was overheated, however, it would simply crack along its length to about one half of its depth, thereby causing premature failure. In such a case, the fire would not be contained within the retort and the metal superstructure, which supported the retort, would buckle. Eventually, testified Lagacé, the retort would collapse and a fire would occur outside the cremation chamber. (27-7424, 7425)

During cool-down, Lagacé shut down the natural gas burner used to fire the crematory and pumped air through the chamber. Older furnaces, he said, had been coal-fired, and had been difficult to cool down simply because the operators could not shut the heat off: "Once coal is burning, unless you remove it, the heat is still being produced." Coal-fired furnaces thus prevented any quick cool-down to occur and in fact required "enormous amounts" of time to cool. (27-7426)

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