Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

It was a hundred years ago this Friday that the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire occurred.  There's been a lot of attention paid to the fire on its centennial.  A hundred and forty six people, mostly young women and girls, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants, died when a fire started late on a Saturday afternoon. 

The fire only burned for eighteen minutes.  In that time twenty died when the fire escape they were on collapsed.  Thirty people died when they plunged into an elevator shaft trying to escape the flames.  Fifty people either jumped or were pushed to their death out the eighth and ninth story windows.  Many of the remaining victims were found huddled next to doors that were locked to prevent them from leaving the factory floor during work hours.

American Experience on PBS recently broadcast a documentary on the fire.  It can be watched online.  Starting tonight HBO is running Triangle:  Remembering the Fire.  For more in-depth information visit the Cornell University Industrial and Labor Relations School site Remembering the Triangle Factory Fire.  Two of the clippings above are from a March 26th, 1911 New York Times article on the Cornell site.  The headline is from a March 27th, 1911 article.

Comments

[judy]

painful to read these

[Joe]

Yes.

[judy]

I heard today that this changed the fire safety and insurance directives from building first to people first. That's a good change.