Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Research Paper

129 Words1 Pages
In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company employed mostly women to make shirts. The working conditions in this factory were much the same as other factories at this time, that is to say, unsafe. The women had only one exit which became crucially important when in 1911 a fire started and there was only that exit, an elevator, which became completely overwhelmed, and an ill-prepared fire escape that became strained to the point that it broke. In the end, 145 people lay dead, all but 23 of whom were women, and half were teenagers. This tragedy put a spotlight of attention on the plight of women workers and led to the adoption of labor laws that not only imposed strict regulations on factory owners, but actually enforced them.