Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Essay

One of the biggest workplace disasters in the American industrial history was The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in Manhattan, New York. On March 25 of 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory, which manufactured women blouses, erupted in flames, killing 146 people and injuring nearly 71. Most of the people killed and injured by the fire were women and children. This incident caused an outrage among labor workers against hazardous working environments in factories not just in New York but also in many industrial centers all over the states.

The Triangle Shirtwaist laborers, much like a lot of industrial workers in the New York at that time, worked for up to 13 hours a day. Not to mention that they only had a half-hour break during their shifts, which often consisted of working with unsafe, foot pedal-operated sewing machineries in poorly conditioned rooms. The workers were locked inside the rooms most of the time because the owners thought that that would be a good way to keep the workers from stealing any equipment. However, the poor work conditions made the people in the labor union unhappy and anxious to do something to stop the mistreatment of laborers. They called for a strike against Triangle Shirtwaist in

It is said that a woman carelessly tossing a lit cigarette in the cutting room was the cause of the fire. The women working in the 8th floor were in a state of panic as they were trying to leave the room but the doors were locked. Luckily, they found a way to exit the room. Most of the women in the 8th floor were able to use the elevator to escape, until it stopped working due to rising heat. Unfortunately, those working in the 9th floor were stuck with no way to escape as the emergency exit collapsed, leaving the women with two difficult choices, to either die by the flames, or jump off the 9th floor. Sadly, everyone on that floor died regardless of the choice they