Triangle Factory Fire

Paper Summary:

The paper describes the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 in New York City and discusses how the fire's loss of life was fueled by lack of fire prevention, proper safety codes, lack of proper fire fighting equipment and water, big fire loads, and lack of or inaccessible exits. The paper then relates that the effects of the fire would be the catalyst for three major changes in America: better working conditions for labor workers, better factory safety standards and better fire and life safety building codes. The paper notes that the Triangle Factory Fire has been and will continue to be one of the most studied fire disasters in history.

From the Paper:

"The Triangle shirtwaist company, famous for making the shirtwaist style ladies' blouses occupied the top three floors of the ten-story Asch Building located at the intersection of Greene Street and Washington Place. The company, owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris employed close to 500 employees, mostly young female immigrant workers, who worked fourteen-hour shifts and 72 hour work weeks sewing clothes for a paltry $1.50 per week. According to accounts, The Triangle Factory Fire started on March 25th 1911 during a warm Saturday afternoon (sometime around 16:30) on the 8th floor when a Cutter noticed a trash/scrap bin on fire. According to most sources, the only means for extinguishing this small fire were 27 fire buckets and they proved of little use as the fire quickly spread out of control due to piles of fabric textiles, scrap, and design patterns made of tissue paper that were littered the rooms and hung above wood tables."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brannigan, Francis L. Fire Disasters: What Have We Learned?. 1997. Fire Fighter Central 11 March 2007 http://firefightercentral.com/history/
• Stein, Leon. The Triangle Fire. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1962
• Suttell, Robin. Past, Present, and Future: Life/Fire Safety. Dec. 2006. Buildings. 16 March 2007 http://www.buildings.com/Articles/
• "The Triangle Factory Fire." 21 Aug 2006. Cornell University ILR School. 28 Feb. 2007 http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/triangle/bibliography.html
• Von Drehle, David. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003

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