Essay On Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was an influential event in American history that caused workers and business owners all of the country to revisit their work-related regulations. Many dangers that occurred as a result of the factory owners’ actions caused the tragedy to be more harmful than necessary. Other preventable mistakes made by the firemen and their equipment added to the tragic nature of this event. America has learned that factories and businesses need safer rules and work environments to protect their employees. Because of this tragic event in the nation’s history, the government passed an abundance of laws to support the safety of workers and their work conditions. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire proved to be tragic because

THe owners of the company should have paid more attention to the hazardous conditions in their factory to prevent a vast tragedy. By overseeing the dangers in the building, they *connect to hubris and greek tragedy*. There was no specific cause of the fire, but the scraps of the fabric from the shirtwaists caused the fire to spread quickly and efficiently (“Triangle...Company”). Cleaning up the unnecessary waste could have prevented the large spreading of the fire. The sewing machines were crammed onto the floors of the factory and left little room for the workers between each other or to the exits of the floors (Benson). The workers had trouble escaping the separate floors and distancing the machines could have made this easier and saved more lives. There was a lack of fire sprinklers and extinguishers which made it easier for the fire to reach other areas of the factory (Lange 59). Additionally, no fire drills had taken place in the building to practice safe escape routes in the case of an emergency (Ooten). Having equipment to stop fires and techniques to escape the building safely would have prevented many of the workers’ deaths. The owners of the

After the fire, the workers learned how important workplace safety was, and they created many groups and committees, such as the International League of Garment Workers’ Union, which helped to raise support for labor-related issues (Ooten). New York’s legislature also passed the Sullivan-Hoey law, which created the Bureau of Fire Prevention and fix many fire hazardous work aspects within the city (Ooten). Another thing New York introduced was the Factory Investigating Commission (FIC), which helped to control factory rules and make safer environments for workers (Ooten). The government has also passed laws to regulate child labor such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, which protects children against many harmful aspects of work, like dangerous environments and unfair pay for example (“Child”). The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire has opened the eyes of the United States’ government and created many helpful and necessary work-related laws and