ISSP ISSP International Scaffolders & Safety Professionals Association The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, New York City

ISSP Learning Safety the Wrong Way Safety Regulations come at an expense, at the at that expense is paid for in blood! ISSP Learning From the Past.

ISSP 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire New York City

ISSP The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. It was also the deadliest disaster in New York City until the destruction of the World Trade Center 90 years later. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged sixteen to twenty-three; the oldest victim was 48, the youngest were two fourteen-year-old girls. Many of the workers could not escape the burning building because the managers had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits. Why? Management was trying to prevent theft! People jumped from the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.