Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire which occurred in New York on March 25, 1911, was considered one of the most tragic disasters in the history of America. It caused death to 146 workers who either died in the fire or jumped to their deaths.The accident has shown the inhumane working conditions the industrial workers faced after the Industrial Revolution along with the greedy negligence the factory owners had shown. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 was eventually declared the turning point in the fight. The sweatshop workers fought for better working conditions and improved factory safety standards. Some may say things were on the rise for the factories, for new laws have been put in place and work wages that went up slowly but surely. …show more content…
For a building that is “more than 2,500 square feet per floor--but less than 5,000 square feet per floor--require two staircases. Each additional 5,000 square feet per floor requires an additional staircase.”(law2.umkc.edu). The factory had only two stair cases when the building needed at least three. Also, the doors to the stair cases were locked along with boxes crowding the exit. The New York Fire Department created many casualties. Their ladders were too short to reach the sixth floor of the factory. While trying to extinguish the flames, their water hoses did not have enough water pressure to reach the fire to put out the flames. When the women and men jumped, the fire department’s fire nets failed to catch those desperate victims. “The girls who did not make it to the stairwells or the elevator were trapped by the fire inside the factory and began to jump from the windows to escape it. The bodies of the jumpers fell on the fire hoses, making it difficult to begin fighting the fire.” (History.com staff. “Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.”). The fire escape was too rusty, so when they tried to use it, it would collapse. The firefighters’ ladders were too short ,at maximum height, to reach. The ladders would “ reach only to the seventh floor and the fire was on the eighth floor.” (History.com stafff. “Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.”).
The whole world received an alarming glimpse of what might just happen to buildings, people, and businesses if the building when into flames with all the obstacles in the way trapping individuals inside. They thought that the fire would happen again if they did not set regulations for safer work conditions. These regulations would allow people to feel comfortable with working. No one wants to lose their family members to an unconscious
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