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Research Paper On The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

824 Words4 Pages

Leah Galloway
History 2200 Pr. Weintz The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire On March 25th, 1911, one of the most deadliest industrial disasters took place in Manhattan, New York City. Killing more than 145 workers, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is remembered to be one of the most monstrous incidents in American industrial history. The many deaths were predominately preventable, and most of the victims died from carelessness of the owners and almost non-existent factory regulations. This never forgotten tragedy led to the advancement of factory regulations and a series of laws that helped better protect the safety of workers all around the globe. The Triangle Factory, located in the top three floors of the Asch Building, on the corner …show more content…

The manager at the time of the fire attempted to put to the fire using a fire hose but it was unsuccessful, as the hose was rusted shut from not being used. As the fire began to spread, panic began to increase. The frantic workers ran to the elevator but it could only hold 12 people at a time, and could only make 4 trips until it broke down due to the heat of the flames. Others fled to the stairs, only to find a locked door, many were burned alive. Many girls took a drastic measure and plunged out the windows to their deaths, the dead jumpers piled up along the cement. The bodies of the jumpers fell on the firehoses, making it difficult to put out the fire. The lucky few who were on the floors above the fire, including the owners, escaped to the roof and then to adjoining buildings. The girls who did not make it to the escape routes were burned alive. Within 18 minutes, 145 workers died by burns, suffocation to smoke, and jumping out of the windows. The horrifying tragedy led to a workers union march on April 5th, on New York’s Fifth Avenue to protest the harsh working conditions that led to the fateful fire — 80,000 people …show more content…

Including women's rights, workers rights, workplace safety, fire codes and immigrant issues. Before the fire, there were little to no worker regulations, leading to worker injury and death. The only safety measures available to workers at the workplace were 27 buckets of water and an unreliable fire escape. Most of the doors were locked from the outside, making it almost impossible to escape in time of disaster. After the fire, it was almost impossible for the government not to institute laws to protect workers. The ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Workers Union) were at the forefront pushing for reforms. Thanks to the ILGWU, real changes got underway and their conclusions set new standards that other states followed and built upon in the years following. This union gained thousands of new members around the country and helped lobby for strict safety regulations in the workplace and later were passed during the administration of President Roosevelt. Once the New York legislature enacted safety laws, other states followed their lead. The New York State legislature created the Factory Investigating Commission to investigate factory conditions which led to 38 new laws regulating labor in New

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Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist fire Disaster hit March 25, 1911 at 4:40 pm at the Triangle Shirt Waste Factory when it caught on fire by a cigarette bud or burning match. The employees were mainly young women and girls of Italian and Jewish decent and 146 died that day. The workers wanted out of the building but one of the doors was locked in the stairwell. Speculation was that Isaac Harris locked the door. Some of the women and girls jumped off the building and out the windows to trying to survive which was interfering with the firemen trying to put out the fire.

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First, the acting fire department commissioner could have enforced the owners and workers to participate in fire drills. These drills could have deterred the number of employees that traveled to the roof and prevented the number of employees that ultimately jumped to their death. While New York at the time was working on passing stricter factory fire protection laws, there should have been more fire inspections at this particular facility due to the four previous fires that had occurred. When we look closely at this fire, blueprints show that the stairwells were only a mere 33 inches wide. With the amount of workers entering and exiting this building 33 inches is not enough when large quantities of people must exit quickly while fire personnel is coming to distinguish any fires.

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On March 25, 1911, a fire started at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that claimed the lives of one hundred and forty-six workers. As a result of the fire, trials and debates occurred that contended the factory owners right to control their business against their duty to implement safe working conditions for their employees. Despite the trial resulting in no charges for the business owners the triangle fire is responsible for stricter safety codes and brought attention on the labor movement. In order to fully understand the changes that resulted because of the shirtwaist fire, you must first know what life was life prior to the fire.

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Most of the factories workers were primarily women working to be able to support themselves and help support their families but would often be locked inside of the factory to try and promote better productivity. But after a fire had broken out inside of the factory the locked doors trapped the women inside with nowhere to go. Fire escapes that had been put onto the building were so poorly made that they bended and warped from the heat of the fire burning inside of the building. Some women with now where to go tried jumping out of the building to flee the flames, other attempted to jump from the roof to another building with many not making the jump, with many other burning alive locked inside of the building. In the end there were 123 women and 23 men died in the fire, with some of the women being as young as 14 working inside of the factory.

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One of the main reasons the fire took such a psychological toll on the New Yorkers was because of the workers jumping to there deaths. One witness even remarked the event saying quote 'I know a new sound a terrible sound the sound of a body hitting the pavement". The inferno was also not an uncommon occurrence the triangle shirt was burned before the tragedy to collect insurance money. Knowing this information, many Jewish and women workers went on strike to secure improved working conditions. There strike in fact proved successful with the New York state legislature creating the Factory Investigating Commission.

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But in reality, the thefts they had totaled up to being less than $25 (Linder “The Trial”). Also, their fire escape was old and rusty, and even fell off of the hinges before the fire was over. These and other unsafe properties to the buildings safety were more reasons that the 146 workers died that day. Maybe this was an accident, or maybe it was planned.

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For example, the formation of the Department of Labor on March 4, 1913, by President Taft with its sole .purpose being to promote and monitor the wellbeing of workers, to improve working conditions, and to enhance profitable employment. There are currently a list of regulations that must be followed in factories or owners will suffer consequences and therefore lose their economic profits. A grievance system was established and workers unions are stronger than ever with the power to strike and stop factories from producing materials while trying to prevent such tragedies from ever occurring again. “Even today, sweatshops have not disappeared in the United States. They keep attracting workers in desperate need of employment and undocumented immigrants, who may be anxious to avoid involvement with governmental agencies.

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was a devastating fire that killed 146 girls in New York City (Leap for Life, Leap for Death). At this time, citizens of New York were furious and demanded that the government do something to prevent future tragedies. The government responded and the reforms that the government made, it changed the future of New York industry. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, one of history’s deadliest fires, came as a result of outrageously unsafe working conditions, led to a high death toll and injury total, but, ultimately resulted in reforms that helped safeguard future factory workers.

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire It is unbelievable as a worker in today’s society to read about laborers working 14-20 hours, not allowed to speak the whole time, but it was a reality for workers at the turn of the 20th century. As our nation entered into the 20th century, there was a major push by the Progressives for changes in the workplace that had been going on for nearly a decade, but with no success. While the Progressive movement had sparked changes in public health, the workplace had not changed for the better. Workers in most jobs had to work long hours, at low pay, with no safety regulations. A perfect example was at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, where workers were required to work 14-20 hours a day, locked into their workspace

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According to AF McEvoy, the fire was “the most dramatic example of industrial disaster in the annals of American labor history” (McEvoy, 1995). This tragedy sparked outrage among the public and drove a movement to improve workplace safety. As a result, the Factory Investigating Commission was established, which led to the passage of numerous labor laws that aimed to protect the rights of workers. These laws established standards for working hours, wages, and safety measures, and provided workers with the right to organize into unions.

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The detrimental Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is considered to be one of the most tragic disasters in history. On March 25th, 1911, a fire broke out and killed 146 garment workers who were mostly women. These women worked countless hours with low wages and inhumane working conditions in a factory. Even though this event was tragic, the triangle shirtwaist fire helped to shape the new world for the better. The multitude of workers trapped within the inferno to their demise was the final straw for the mistreatment of America’s workers.

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In April 2013, Matthew Yglesias, an American Economics Journalist proposed the people of Bangladesh would not appreciate having stronger safety standards in their country because it would cause undue harm economically. He asserts Bangladesh should have different lower standards for safety because they are a poorer country. Most of the people involved in the New York tragedy of 1911 also known as the Triangle Fire, would not agree with Matthew Yglesias on his assertion that lower economic status would be an indication of lower safety standards in factories. Namely, the workers, the union leaders, the progressive reformers and the political leaders would all vote for higher standards commiserate with the United States. The only ones who would not argue with Yglesias are the owners of the Triangle Factory with their vested interest, their own problems of multiple fires and accusations of safety neglect.

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(Bajaj) “ Most of the workers who died were on the first and second floors, fire officials said, and were killed because there were not enough exits. ‘So the workers could not come out when the fire engulfed the building,’ said Maj. Mohammad Mahbub, the operations director for the Fire Department, according to The Associated Press,” (Bajaj). The fire is was a large controversy throughout the world because the factory did not follow safety laws and broke many rules.

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But alas, most workers were in dangerous jobs, and a lot were hurt or killed. Working conditions were so bad, that labor organizations were formed, and strikes and protests began to have the government to step in and help the average american. Paragraph 2: With urbanization, corporations and companies looked for ways to cut corners, or increase their profit margin. This lead to some safety issues.

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How would you prevent a factory fire? The Triangle Shirtwaist fire killed 146 people. Max Blanck and Issac Harris employ young and teenage girls. Many of them were immigrants. This tragic fire took place in New York, in 1911.

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