Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Header

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company, located at 23-29 Washington Place in Greenwich Village, New York was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. Approximately 500 workers produced women’s blouses six days per week. The working conditions in the factory were poor, and workers were forced to work for nine hours per day on weekdays and an additional seven hours on Saturdays. In 1911, a fire killed more than 100 workers and forever changed workplace safety laws and procedures in the United States.

Factory Fire

Triangle Shirtwaist Building on Fire

The fire began at approximately 4:40 p.m. on March 25, 1911. Smoking was not allowed in the factory, but some employees were known to sneak cigarettes while working. The Fire Marshal speculated that a discarded cigarette or match may have ignited some discarded fabric in a scrap bin on the factory floor. A newspaper article suggested that one of the sewing machine engines was responsible for the blaze. The first alarm did not go out until five minutes after the fire started, when a passerby on the street below noticed smoke coming from the eighth floor of the building. At this time, fire safety standards were not as strict as they are today, so there was no alarm to warn all of the employees to get out of the building. Workers on the ninth floor did not know about the fire until it arrived on their floor, putting them in danger and making it difficult to escape.

One of the biggest factors contributing to the deaths of more than 100 people was the fact that factory managers kept several doors in the building locked throughout the day. This done in an attempt to prevent employee theft. The managers would stop employees at these doors when they would leave each day and check their purses and bags before opening the doors at the end of a shift. When one of the stairways was blocked by flames, employees tried to access another stairway. Unfortunately, the door leading to the stairway was locked and the foreman who had the key had already escaped the building.

Some tried to use a fire escape to get out of the building, however, due to the structure's flimsiness, the heat of the fire, combined with the weight of several employees, caused the fire escape to collapse. The workers plummeted 100 feet to their deaths. Sixty-two people died when they tried to jump out of the building to escape the flames. A total of 146 people died during the fire, with an additional 71 people injured. Many of these workers were young immigrant women ranging from 16 to 23 years of age. The fire also killed two 14-year-old girls.

Trial Results

After the horrific day, Blanck and Harris were brought to trial where they were charged with first as well as second degree manslaughter. Their attorney tried to destroy witness credibility by making one of the survivors repeat her statement several times. She did as instructed, but she used the same phrasing each time. The attorney argued that she must have memorized her statement and even accused prosecutors of coaching the witness. Defense counsel also argued that the owners did not know that the exit doors were locked at the time of the fire. Blanck and Harris were acquitted of the charges, but lost a civil suit filed by families of the victims. The families of each victime received a total of $75 as a result of the suit. Blanck and Harris recovered approximately $400 per casualty from their insurance company. Unfortunately, Blanck learned nothing from his mistakes, as he was arrested in 1913 for again having an exit door locked during business hours. His punishment was a fine of $20.

Parade for Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Victims

 

Long-Term Impact

This tragedy did not have a positive outcome for victims and their families, but it did lead to new legislation designed to protect workers from unsafe working conditions. The New York Factory Investigative Commission wrote 36 new bills that were later adopted by the New York legislature. In October 1911, new legislation provided for the creation of the New York Bureau of Fire Prevention. The bureau made several changes to local building code, making it necessary for building owners to install fire alarms, use fireproof materials in stairwells, and provide fire extinguishers.

Prior to the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, the government felt that it should stay out of business affairs. The fire changed this attitude, spurring legislators to write and pass laws designed to protect workers. Once New York enacted new safety laws, other states in America did the same. Workers also started joining unions, which helped them voice their concerns in an organized manner. Unions were instrumental in protecting workers in the 20th century.

2011 Centennial of Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

On March 25, 2011, the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition gathered to commemorate the centennial of the fire. This group consisted of historians, labor activists, artists, and representatives from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Thousands of people marched through the streets holding women’s blouses or wearing sashes listing the names of those who had perished in the factory fire. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Hilda Solis, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, spoke at the commemoration ceremony.

The following links provide more details about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and its implications for workplace safety in the United States.