Triangle Shortwaist Tragedy
The Triangle Shirtwaist Tragedy
On a Saturday afternoon in March a terrible tragedy happened in a New York City factory. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was a result of neglected safety procedures and about 145 people died from this. The deaths were fundamentally avoidable due to sealed doors. It is remembered as one of the most notorious calamities in the American industrial history. This essay will describe the details of this horrific incident and how America has benefitted from it.
On March 25, 1911 The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was destroyed. It was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris and they had a suspicious history with factory fires. The factory was on the top three floors of the Asch Building in Manhattan, New York. The Asch Building was located on the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was considered a major sweatshop and nearly all the personnel where adolescent girls who could not speak English. They worked twelve hours a day every day, yet they were salaried only a measly fifteen dollars a week. These teenage immigrants worked in cramped spaces with lines of sewing machines. It was really difficult to maneuver.
Blanck and Harris were no strangers to fires. This was the second fire for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the first one being in 1902. They also owned another factory, Diamond Waist Company factory. This factory burned twice as well, once in 1907 and again in 1910. Investigators found that they were deliberately setting fires in their factories to receive an insurance check.
On that horrid day in March a fire was born in a rag bin. It is said that the manager attempted to extinguish the fire with a hose, but the hose was rusted and dry rotted. During the panic, all the workers tried to leave by the elevator, but it could only hold twelve people. Some jumped from the windows, and then others fled down the stairwell, only to find that the door was locked. The fire was over within eighteen
On a Saturday afternoon in March a terrible tragedy happened in a New York City factory. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was a result of neglected safety procedures and about 145 people died from this. The deaths were fundamentally avoidable due to sealed doors. It is remembered as one of the most notorious calamities in the American industrial history. This essay will describe the details of this horrific incident and how America has benefitted from it.
On March 25, 1911 The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was destroyed. It was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris and they had a suspicious history with factory fires. The factory was on the top three floors of the Asch Building in Manhattan, New York. The Asch Building was located on the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was considered a major sweatshop and nearly all the personnel where adolescent girls who could not speak English. They worked twelve hours a day every day, yet they were salaried only a measly fifteen dollars a week. These teenage immigrants worked in cramped spaces with lines of sewing machines. It was really difficult to maneuver.
Blanck and Harris were no strangers to fires. This was the second fire for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the first one being in 1902. They also owned another factory, Diamond Waist Company factory. This factory burned twice as well, once in 1907 and again in 1910. Investigators found that they were deliberately setting fires in their factories to receive an insurance check.
On that horrid day in March a fire was born in a rag bin. It is said that the manager attempted to extinguish the fire with a hose, but the hose was rusted and dry rotted. During the panic, all the workers tried to leave by the elevator, but it could only hold twelve people. Some jumped from the windows, and then others fled down the stairwell, only to find that the door was locked. The fire was over within eighteen
References: "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. The New York Times. "May Amend New Fire Law." The New York Times (1912): n. pag. MAY AMEND NEW FIRE LAW. - Five Changes Prepared for Bill Framed to Prevent Losses. The New York Times, 27 Feb. 1912. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. New York Times – Feb. 27, 1912 [ 2 ]. New York Times – Feb. 27, 1912