Special Sub-Topic: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Click Here To Play: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

The fire broke out in which New York City building?

Asch Building. The building was located at the corner of Washington Square East in lower Manhattan. There was an exit that faced Greene street but this was blocked by the fire.

What day of the week did the fire take place?

Saturday. This was a typical sweatshop which meant long workdays for low wages and included working six days a week. The fire broke out shortly before quitting time on that chilly saturday afternoon.

How many stories tall was the building?

10 stories. The Triangle Shirtwaist factory occupied the top three floors. Ironically, at that time in New York City, fire fighting equipment could only reach up to the 7th floor. This contributed to the large number of fatalities.

What date did the fire take place?

March 25th, 1911. Even though there had been several fire disasters in the United States prior to this one in 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory stands as one of the worst disasters since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Most of the workers could be described as:

Young immigrant women aged 14-25.. Sweatshops preyed on young immigrant women who were trying to make their way to a better life in America. The hours were long, the wages were low, the conditions were horrible. The young women, most of whom could barely speak English, feared complaining because they knew that they could easily be replaced by someone else. The Triangle Shirtwaist factory was a non-union shop.

On what floor did the fire start?

8th Floor. The fire was confined to the top three floors. Part of the reason for such high fatalities on the 9th floor is because they were not notified of the fire. The occupants only became aware of the fire's existence when one of the girls opened the door to leave work for the day. At this point the fire was blazing out of control.

Approximately how many people did the Triangle Shirtwaist factory employ?

500. Nearly 30% of the workers' lives were ended in this tragedy. Many of the young women waited at the windows to be rescued. When it became evident that the fire was quicker than the rescue was going to be, they decided to jump, plunging to their death below rather than be burned alive. The bodies that piled up in the street were a hinderance to the fire trucks as they made there way in to fight the blaze.

Approximately how many people died in the fire?

146. Many of the fatalities were on the 9th floor and were due to the workers never receiving notification. When the fire started on the 8th floor a call was made to the executive offices on the 10th floor to notify them. The same worker tried to ring the 9th floor, but couldn't get through.

How did the fire start?

In the excessive rags on the 8th floor.. The floor plans of the building were wide open, each floor consisted of 10,000 square feet. The rooms were overcrowded on the top three floors, making them hazardous. Each was filled with eight sewing tables that were 4 ft wide and ran the width of the room. The workers sat back-to-back in cramped quarters. The narrow aisles were also blocked with finished coats and rags, hampering escape. The owner was supposed to make sure that the rags got dumped on a regular cycle, they weren't.

Why were the floors of the building permitted to be made out of wood?

The overall height of the building was less than 150 feet.. The building was 135 feet tall, if it had been either 150 feet tall or one more story high, then the law at the time would have mandated stone or concrete floors. Because the floors were made of wood and due to the massive amounts of combustible rags and cloth, the fire spread very rapidly. It took less then 30 minutes for the fire to destroy the upper floors and kill many of the occupants within.

What was the problem with the outside fire escape?

All of these. (It was made of iron and became extremely hot., It fell away from the building under the weight of people exiting., It didn't extend all the way to the ground.). The law at the time this building was constructed required three separate exit stairs, the building only had two. The architect argued that because there was an outside fire escape it should count as the third set of stairs, even though it didn't extend all the way to the ground. Pictures of the iron fire escape show that it was not anywhere near adequate enough to handle the weight of even a few escaping victims once it got hot. It twisted and pulled away from the building, rendering it useless.

What was the problem with the stair exit doors on each floor?

They all swung into the room and some of them were locked.. The ones that were unlocked were as good as locked anyway as the weight of the panicked workers pressed up against the inswinging doors making it difficult for rescuers to open them. The doors were supposed to remain unlocked during working hours according to the law, but it was common for the owner to bolt the doors durng business hours because he was worried about possible theft by his employees.

Two years prior to the fire an inspector recommended that the owner:

Implement regular fire drills.. The inspector was astounded to find the overcrowded conditions and to learn of the fact that the owner had never had a fire drill. He was concerned that if there ever was a fire, the workers would all panic trying to escape - and he was right.

Who were the proprietors of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory?

Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. They were indicted for charges of 2nd and 3rd degree manslaughter and then later acquitted. Even though there was strong testimony to the fact that the doors remained locked during business hours, the Grand Jury of New York had enough reasonable doubt.

How much did the owners later pay in a civil settlement?

$75.00 per lost life. The good news is that this tragedy has had a significant impact on sweatshop reform. In addition, this fire affected the future of how high rise buildings in New York City would be built, as well as the codes for other types of public buildings. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has made several changes to "The Building Exits Code" (now known as "The Life Safety Code") based on what was learned from this disaster.