Ep. 77 Triangle Factory Fire: How a Horrific Tragedy Sparked a Movement to Save Workers Lives

On March 25th, 1911, a fire erupted on the 8th floor of the Asch building in New York City. The 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of this building housed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory which employed around 500 people, mostly young immigrant women, to sew women's blouses under sweatshop conditions. The owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, believed the building to be fireproof and refused to take any fire safety measures. They also locked the exit doors, fearful that the women would steal from them if allowed to leave before their bags could be searched. Due to this negligence, 123 women and 23 men died, burned alive, trapped in locked stairwells or waiting for the only elevator. Many of the victims were forced to jump from 8th and 9th floor windows, their broken bodies littering the sidewalk below. This horrifying tragedy was a wakeup call for labor conditions in the US, leading to the passing of more than 30 health and safety laws. But what of Blanck and Harris? Were they punished? Did they learn their lesson? Of course not. 

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Sources: 

• Cornell University website about the Triangle Factory Fire
• History.com "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire"
• US Department of Labor "History of Labor Day"
• OSHA "The worse day I ever saw"
• The New York Times, March 26, 1911 "141 Men and Girls Die in Factory Fire"
• Encyclopedia Britannica "Triangle shirtwaist factory fire"