Triangle Shirtwaist factory

The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire was a tragic event that happened in New York
City on March 25, 1911. The fire killed 146 people – most of them young women
working at the factory. It's one of the worst industrial accidents in U.S history
and it led to new laws about safety at work sites and factories.

On March 25, 1911, a huge fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. It
started in the cutting room and spread quickly. People were trapped inside because
of locked doors; hundreds died as they tried to escape or jumped out of windows to
their deaths. Most of these workers were young women between 14 and 20 years old
who had come from Europe seeking better opportunities than those available at home.

The Triangle factory was housed on the eighth, ninth and tenth floors of the ten-
story building at 29 Washington Place. The building was owned by Max Blanck and
Isaac Harris (both Jewish immigrants), who had purchased it in 1911 and converted
it into a garment factory.
The fire started on March 25th, 1911 at around 4:40pm when an employee named Fannie
Bernstein knocked over some steam irons while hanging clothes. The flames spread
quickly throughout the building due to its wooden floors and lack of sprinklers or
fire escapes. The workers were unable to escape due to locked doors leading outside
as well as locked elevators preventing them from going higher up into other floors
where there might have been safety exits available for them use if needed!

The fire department was called but did not arrive until over an hour later. By that
time the building was engulfed in flames and there was no hope of rescuing those
still trapped inside. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is considered one of the
worst work-related disasters in American history, killing 146 people (123 women and
23 men) and injuring another 100 (including some who jumped out windows to escape).

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The Triangle factory was housed on the eighth, ninth and tenth floors of the ten-
story building at 29 Washington Place. The building itself was 10 stories tall,
with narrow windows that could not be opened due to their proximity to other
buildings in the area.

The fire started at approximately 4:40 pm in a bin full of scrap fabric near a
cutting machine operated by 15 year old Kate Alterman who worked as an "improver"
(a skilled seamstress). She had been there for only six months having come from
Russia only four years ago with her parents and brother Mikhail who also worked at
Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Alterman had been working all day Saturday because it
was payday for employees; she did not know how to speak English fluently so she
couldn't understand what anyone said when they asked her questions about what
happened before she went home early because of feeling sick.

The fire spread quickly through the wooden floors and stairways. There were no
sprinklers or other fire safety measures in place, and workers had only one small
fire escape that could hold a maximum of 25 people at any given time. The
building's stairwells were also full of fabric scraps, which created a tinderbox
effect when combined with the flammable materials used in the factory such as
rubber soles.

The fire quickly spread throughout the building. Those who tried to escape through
the stairwells were trapped by smoke, heat and flames at every turn; those who
jumped to their deaths had a better chance of survival. The first alarm was
received by the New York City Fire Department at 4:45 pm; however, it took over an
hour for fire trucks to arrive on the scene.

The fire was finally brought under control by 8:30 pm. The building’s architect,
Max Blanck
and his business partner, Isaac Harris, were arrested on June 15, 1911. They were
charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fire and stood trial at the
New York Supreme Court. The defense argued that the owners had no knowledge of a
fire hazard or any plan to deliberately cause one.

The prosecution’s case rested on the testimony of several witnesses who claimed
that Blanck and Harris had locked their doors to prevent workers from leaving the
premises. The government also presented evidence showing that the owners had raised
the rent for their sweatshops in order to capitalize on rising prices for clothing
during World War I.

After a six-week trial, the jury found Blanck and Harris guilty of first-degree
murder. They were both sentenced to life imprisonment at Sing Sing prison in
Ossining, New York. The trial was one of the first legal cases to use forensics and
fire investigation as evidence.

The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a pivotal event in American
history. It was the deadliest industrial disaster in New York’s history and helped
spur changes in labor laws. In March 1911, just a month before the tragedy, New
York City’s Board of Aldermen had passed an ordinance that required factory owners
to provide running water, toilets and fire escapes for their workers.

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There were also men and boys working in the factory. The workers cut and sewed
shirts, skirts and blouses for many different companies. They worked long hours
under poor conditions with low pay, but they organized into unions so that they
might improve their lives through collective bargaining agreements with management
at these large department stores.

The young workers cut and sewed shirts, skirts and blouses. They were mostly young
women who worked long hours for low wages in unsafe conditions. The Triangle
Shirtwaist Company was one of the first places where workers organized to fight for
better working conditions.

The owners of the factory did not care about their employees' safety or health;
they only cared about making money from them. In 1911 there was a fire at this
factory that killed 146 people because there was no emergency exit plan in place at
all!

The ILGWU was founded in 1900 by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. These women
were mostly immigrants and had come to America seeking a better life for themselves
and their families. They organized strikes in the garment industry, which resulted
in higher wages for workers and shorter hours for employees.

The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) was a union for garment
workers. It was founded in 1900 by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who were
mostly women and children. The ILGWU organized strikes in the garment industry,
leading to better working conditions and wages.

Some of the workers at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory had been members of this union
but many of their leaders had been arrested a few weeks earlier during a strike.

The ILGWU was founded in 1900 by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who were
mostly women and children. The union organized strikes in the garment industry,
leading to better working conditions and wages. Many of the workers at Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory had been members of this union but many of their leaders had
been arrested a few weeks earlier during a strike.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire occurred on March 25th 1911 at the Triangle
Shirtwaist Company located at 23rd Street & Washington Place in New York City's
Greenwich Village neighborhood.

Some people saw that there was a fire in the wastebasket near the cutting tables on
the 8th floor. The cigarette was thrown into the wastebasket after it had been
smoked. It was against company policy for workers to smoke in the factory, so
nobody put out their cigarettes before throwing them away.

As the fire spread, workers scrambled to put it out but it got bigger quickly. They
were not aware of how to use the fire escape routes and many were trapped in
elevators. The fire department arrived too late to help anyone escape; all they
could do was try to protect other buildings from catching on fire as well.

On March 25, 1911, a fire began at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. It started in a
wastebasket and quickly spread throughout the factory. The workers did not have
time to evacuate before they were trapped by flames on all sides.

The shirtwaist was a popular garment among women in New York City during this time
period because it allowed them to show off their figures while still being modest
enough for work or school (when compared with other types of dresses). The
shirtwaist was made up of several pieces: an underlayer made out of cotton material
that went underneath another layer called an overskirt; an underskirt; two layers
for each shoulder strap; and two more layers for each side seam which connected
together at the waistline with hooks or buttons depending on what style you
preferred (some versions even included pockets!).

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located in the heart of New York City. As the
fire grew larger, crowds gathered outside the building to watch it burn. The fire
department arrived but could not get through the crowds because they were too busy
watching and taking pictures, thinking that nothing could be done about such a
large fire.

The firemen tried to fight the blaze from outside but their attempts were
unsuccessful; many people died because they did not have enough time or room to
escape safely from inside

In the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, most of the workers tried to escape
through the door. The police tried to catch those who jumped from the building with
their clothes on fire, but some women jumped anyway because they were trapped and
burned to death.

people watched in horror as these young girls and women were killed right before
their eyes.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Company had no fire escapes, and the girls and women
working there at the windows tried to get out. They were trapped, however, and
burned to death. Only some of them could get out--most tried to escape through the
door but police tried to catch those who jumped from the building with the fire
behind them. It was like a train wreck: people watched in horror as bodies fell
from above into piles on street level below.

The fire caught the attention of the public, and there was an outcry for reform.
The federal government passed laws regulating the use of flammable materials in
factories, mandating fire drills and sprinkler systems. A few years later, New York
passed its own laws requiring sprinklers in all new buildings over 50 feet high.

The fire was tragic because so many people died. Hundreds of workers tried to
escape from the building but they were trapped on the upper floors. Many jumped out
of windows in desperation and others were burned or crushed when they tried to get
down the narrow stairwells. The New York Times reported that 146 workers died,
including 21 who jumped out of windows before firefighters could reach them. The
city coroner said that as many as 50 more bodies might have been found if they had
cleaned up all of the debris from inside and outside of the building."