The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire

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The following is a short excerpt of those who fought and died due to the Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire. “The “Triangle” Company… With blood this name will be written in the history of the American workers’ movement, and with feel will this history recall the names of the strikers of this shop—of the crusaders.”— Jewish Daily Forward (Drehle)

On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire broke out. Proper workers’ rights and fire prevention installations were not in place or were not followed. There were no sprinkler systems and the doors were locked to keep the garment workers inside. From sparks to embers, the fire lasted a short fifteen minutes but it changed fire safety from then on. (Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire) Although the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire could have been prevented if safety codes were in place, cluttered workspaces increased productivity. This fire led the way to better work environments immediately, and safety codes and more knowledge about fire prevention for our generation.

At 4:30 p.m. on March 25, 1911 in downtown New York, the fire that changed American fire safety and knowledge broke out. (Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire) One hundred forty six garment workers, some as young as fourteen, burned to death or leaped one hundred feet from the top three of ten stories, only to find out that the fire nets below them would not hold their weight and were therefore useless. (Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire:) “…[Some] arrived in time to see tangles of bodies, some trailing flames, tumbling from the ninth-floor windows…” (Drehle 2) William G. Shepherd, a newspaper reporter, described the falling of the bodies, “Thud-dead, thud-dead, thud-dead, thud-dead. Sixty-two thud-dea...

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...l.edu/trianglefire/primary/survivorInterviews/MaxHochfield.html>.

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