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What Was the Triangle Fire?

Mary McMahon
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Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 9,822
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The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire, also known as the Triangle Fire, was an infamous industrial disaster that led to major reforms in fire safety, factory procedures, and unionization of garment workers. The fire, which claimed the lives of 146 people, began on the afternoon of 25 March 1911 on the eighth floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City. The Triangle Fire is often cited as a terrible example of the horrific conditions in which sweatshop workers labored before the advent of major reforms for the American working class.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was owned by Max Blanc and Isaac Harris, who founded the company to take advantage of the growing trend of long skirts and blouses, or shirtwaists, which became popular in the early part of the 20th century. The Triangle Fire struck a severe blow to both men and their business, which never fully recovered. The factory employed 500 men and women, although the majority of the workers were female, and most of those trapped and killed by the Triangle Fire were women. Most of the employees were illegal immigrants trying to build better lives for themselves in America, and they endured the unpleasant working conditions because they felt they had no other choice.

Before the Triangle Fire, the company was already well known for resisting attempts at unionizing. A massive city-wide strike organized in 1909 originated at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, and four months of negotiations by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union finally brought about an agreement, which the Triangle Shirtwaist Company refused to accept. During the strike, the factory employed scabs and vicious protectors who were later accused of severely beating young strikers.

The Triangle Fire began in the late afternoon, shortly before a change of shifts, in a bin of textile cuttings. The factory was on the upper floors of the ten story Asch building, at the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place. The Triangle Fire illustrated a fact well known to garment workers already – that most garment factories were potential fire traps, with bins of highly flammable textiles and patterns surrounded by smoking workers and overworked sewing machines that sometimes overheated and caused small fires. In fact, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company had already been cited for fire safety concerns.

While fire alarms went off on the eighth and tenth floors, the ninth floor was not warned, and most of the workers on that floor did not survive, trapped by the heat of the Triangle Fire, locked doors, and panic. All of the floors only had one open exit, because the other door was locked, ostensibly to prevent workers from taking breaks, leaving early, or stealing. The fire raced up the stairwell with unlocked doors, effectively trapping workers in the highly flammable workrooms. Many of them jumped out of the upstairs windows or down the elevator shaft, sometimes on fire, in an attempt to escape the heat.

Workers lucky enough to escape to the roof were rescued by employees of a neighboring office building and the fire department, which arrived on the scene very quickly. The owners of the factory escaped to the roof and were later acquitted of wrongdoing in the fire. Labor activists were furious, as were many lawmakers, and the Triangle Fire ultimately resulted in legislation that still governs working conditions in the United States.

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Mary McMahon
By Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGeek researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

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Discussion Comments
By anon310674 — On Dec 25, 2012

Prosecuted? Under what laws? That was the whole tragedy. You are thinking like a 21st century American. They did not die in vain, because now there are laws. Think progress, not vengeance. Progress was made.

By turquoise — On Feb 24, 2011

I had heard about this incident in class but did not know that the workers were mostly illegal immigrants.

Has anyone seen the movie Fast Food Inc.? This movie shows the terrible working conditions of meat factories in the South near the Mexican border. Most of the workers there are also illegal immigrants and it's the only job they they can really find in the area considering their status in the United States. The film showed the intensity and difficulty of the work and how hazardous it is to work with those machines. Some workers were disabled as a result of working there but were unable to do anything legally to fight for their rights. The shirtwaist triangle fire took place one hundred years ago but such working conditions still exist in the U.S. now.

What do we need to do to prevent another triangle shirtwaist factory fire from happening again?

By burcinc — On Feb 23, 2011

The death of so many workers was clearly the result of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company's irresponsibility as employers. I'm glad that this brought attention to worker's rights and resulted in legislation that improved working conditions but I'm also sad that such a tragic event was necessary for this to happen.

Were the owners of the factory tried or prosecuted for the triangle factory fire? Considering that they created the conditions that led to the fire and the inability of the workers to escape, if they were not prosecuted and if the families of the workers were not compensated for their loss, I would say that these women died in vain.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a...

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