Triangle Factory Fire

The Factory Located on the top three floors of a ten-story building in NYC A clothing factory About 500 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrant women Some girls as young as 13 or 14, making $1.50 a week for 60 hours of work (around $40 today)

Fire Breaks Out March, 1911--Fire starts on a Saturday afternoon and quickly sweeps through the top three floors Not sure how the fire started--lots of flammable textiles 146, mostly young women, die in the flames or from jumping to their death

Inside of the factory after the fire

The weight of the falling bodies jumping out of the window caused The weight of the falling bodies jumping out of the window caused holes in the sidewalk … There were a lot of bodies that were unidentifiable after the fire, many girls were identified by their jewelry.

Victims found on the Sidewalk

Trapped! Some escaped, but many did not One stairway was engulfed by flames, the other blocked by a locked door on one of the floors Few made it down the one fire escape

The local authorities had declared building was safe; How could that be?

The Aftermath of the Fire This couple had just identified their daughter among the victims In all 146 men and women lost their lives in the fire, the youngest being 11.

Significance of the Fire The largest industrial accident in the history of NYC Factory owners found innocent at trial—later paid $75 to families of dead workers Brought attention to the need for new safety regulations

Results of the Triangle Fire Thousands of women mourn the loss of the victims of the fire. Fire Prevention and inspections of factories becomes routine and the horrors of the garment industry is reformed nationwide as a result.

Justice? Blanck and Harris, owners of the Triangle Building, were found innocent of any wrongdoing.

“To many, its horrors epitomize the extremes of industrialism “To many, its horrors epitomize the extremes of industrialism. The tragedy still dwells in the collective memory of the nation and of the international labor movement. The victims of the tragedy are still celebrated as martyrs at the hands of industrial greed.”  From the Cornell University Web Exhibit