Today’s a little bit of a somber day as we remember the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that occurred 110 years ago on March 25, 1911. The fire remained one of New York’s deadliest workplace disasters for 90 years and makes note of garment industry conditions that really haven’t changed.

Focusing first on the background of the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, we’re able to get a better understanding of both safety conditions in the early 20th century and the tendencies of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory owners to ignore safety precautions for the sake of potential profit. From there the attention shifts to the events of March 25, 1911. At roughly 4:40 PM on a Saturday a fire broke out on the 8th floor of the Asch building that housed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Common practice at the time allowed for foremen to lock building doors until the end of the workday to limit breaks and check purses in attempts to prevent theft and unfortunately led to many of the 9th floor workers to be trapped inside the building with no way of escape. During the course of the 90 minute fire, 146 workers perished due to either the fire of jumping to their deaths. Firefighters arrived at the scene but were able to provide little help as their equipment was not long enough to reach the 8th floor. The brief glimmer of hope comes from the fact that Blanck and Harris did face consequences in civil court and New York cracked down on code violations and helped to create a safer working environment that millions of Americans still benefit from.

Here’s is the Cornell University website about the fire that gives the backstory as well as testimonies from survivors, a model of the 9th floor, and a complete list of the victims: https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/index.html

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