The Triangle shirtwaist factory fire on March 25, 1911, was one of the worst tragedies ever back then, causing the death of 146 workers. This company was owned by Max Blank and Isaac Harris. They had a little shop by 1900 and it grew quickly, they moved their business to the ninth floor of the new ten-story Asch building. There were approximately 500 workers, mostly immigrant women, worked at the Triangle shirtwaist company. Bessie Cohen, who survived was inside the building and wrote a short story of what had happened. Most women either died from the fire or jumped from a high height. They jumped because the fire trucks' ladders could only reach up to seventh floor. The doors were locked to prevent workers from stealing or leaving, thus, they …show more content…
They emigrated from Russia and met in the United States. By 1900 they had a little shop and it grew up quickly that they moved their business into Asch Building in the 8th floor then they moved to the tenth floor. There were approximately 500 people, mostly women who worked at the Triangle Waist Company. They worked at 7: 30 AM during the busy season, until nine o'clock in the evening. They didn't get paid any overtime on their paychecks. Many of the workers were very young, as low as age of …show more content…
Bessie Cohen, who survived was inside the building when the scene happened. She asked her friend to ask the foreman to give her a 50-cent raise. Within the next 15 minutes, the triangle caught up on fire killing 30 percent of workers. She heard a foreman shout to her, "Bessie, save yourself." She remembers when she looked at her friend Dora, then she looked again and she was gone. She was one of those who jumped from the window. The fire trucks' ladders could only reach up to the seventh floor. So they couldn't save the people above seventh floor. Also, firefighters held nets below, but there were jumping at the same time, so the nets couldn't hold them, so they died. A few workers rushed to the elevator to no avail. Most of those who lost their lives had worked on the ninth floor. Also, the doors from the shop areas were locked, to keep the women at their sewing machines. That's unsafe for the workers. Some workers managed to escape to the roof. Finally, they have revealed the cause of the fire. According to the Triangle book, cigarette was the cause of the fire and due to the cottons (which is flammable), oxygen (explosively) papers, woods, and materials it grew bigger and blazed the workers killing them in instant that they had no time to
It was later discovered that the fire had probably started when a worker disposed a cigarette or match into a rag bin containing three hundred pounds of thin, oxygen-rich, cotton fabric. It was also estimated that there was a total of more than one ton of those cotton scraps in the upper three floors of the factory. “In that brief span, the fire did more killing than any other workplace disaster in New York City history up to that time, or for ninety years afterward.” It was considered “the worst industrial fire in American history.” The fire was one of the most important and biggest factors in the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment.
Some of the women bodies fell on top of the fire hoses, strangling the firefighter’s duty to fight the fire. When the firefighters tried to put the fire out, they
Also the nets they used to try and save the people jumping from windows weren't strong enough so they didn't work but with safety codes they wouldn't have had that many people jumping at once or maybe even at all. The worst thing about the Triangle Factory building is that there was no fire escapes in the
Eventually, the employees realized they would not win the battle, and returned to work. The founders of this company were selfish in their actions, only stopping to help it’s employees when they started to lack personal gain. After going back to work, a cigarette, still lit, was dropped onto the workroom floor of the 8th floor. The loose fabric and wicker baskets quickly wicked this up, creating a deadly fire. The stairwell was locked, and no one had the key to open
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 was the deadliest workplace accident in New York history. Most of the workers in the factory were immigrants who came to America for a better future. Their dream was economic security, which they saw in America. Getting a job in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a desired position, even if the job consisted of fourteen hour work days, six days a week. At most, the workers would take home $2 a day.
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.
They were rich men, and considered as the Shirtwaist Kings. David Von Drehle, journalist, and author of Triangle- The Fire That Put Out America, argues that the fire could have been preventable. Unfortunately, the fire burned for about five minutes before the alarm was sounded. The manager of the factory, Samuel Bernstien, was on the eighth floor when the fire broke out.
However, they were blamed for the poor work conditions such as locking the doors while employees are in the building. The District Attorney brought charges against them and they were indicted on seven counts, including manslaughter. However, on December 27, Harris and Blanck were acquitted of all charges by a jury. However, later civil suits were filed against the owners of Asch Building. They settled the case, paying $75 for every death (The Triangle Factory Fire).
Owners Of The Triangle Factory Fire: Corruption At It's Finest The Triangle Factory fire, one of the most horrific disasters before 9/11, killed a total of 146 people. The owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, who escaped the building through the roof when the fire happened, were charged with second-degree manslaughter and went on trial on December 4, 1911.
The fire spread quickly and there were limited ways to escape. The young female workers were faced with only a couple of decisions for possible escape: jump out a window onto the street, push into the overcrowded or even non functioning elevator shaft, attempt to climb onto the building next door or most likely die horrifically as a result of burning in the fire. “The people began to throw themselves out of the windows. All the machines were bubbling with flames. I had my fur coat and hat with two feathers and a green woolen skirt which I pulled over my hat and my head.
There were about 500 workers working at this time when a fire began in a rag bin. Out of the 500 workers 146 of them had lost their lives. Those that survived were left to relive those agonizing moments of sheer terror and fear. Many of the workers were women, some as young as fourteen.
According to the History.com Staff (2009), Blanck and Harris had purposely burned down two of their previous buildings to collect the larger amount of money from the fire-insurance policies they had bought. Even though Blanck and Harris did not burn down the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, they still played a huge part in the fire. Since they burned down their own building so they could gain money, Blanck and Harris did not have any precautions that would help prevent a fire from happening. However, they did not have to have any precautions because of the laws about building safety at that time.
Could the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory have been prevented? I am not going to answer that question just yet. Without assessing all of the information to prevent the making of unfounded accusations. First things first you may be asking yourself what a Triangle Shirtwaist is. A triangle shirtwaist is a type of blouse that many women wore in the early 1900's.
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.
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.