Triangle Factory Fire

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Nathan PenningtonHIS 1102 Richard PughJune 2, 2015Triangle Factory Fire

Triangle Factory FireNew York City

March 25, 1911

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Outline1. What is a Shirtwaist?2. Triangle Factory Owners3. Working Life at the Triangle

Factory4. The Strike5. 9th Floor Layout6. The Fire7. The Aftermath8. Works Cited

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What is a Shirtwaist?

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Triangle Factory Owners Max Blanck and Isaac Harris,

were known as the "Shirtwaist Kings."

They immigrated from Russia making a fortune manufacturing "Gibson girl" style blouses.

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Working Life at the Triangle Factory

Most Modern Facility High Ceilings Large Windows Electric Machines

$2 A Day Wage 12 – 16 hours 5 days a week No Breaks Saturday 8 hours Sunday Off

Worker’s Pay Docked Broken Needles Mistakes Lost Time

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The Strike• October 4, 1909 Triangle workers

strike• Owners hire “Private Detectives”• Strikers are beaten• Police are paid to arrest strikers

• Public is indifferent• November 1909 – General Strike is

called• 500 Factories are shut down

• February 1910 strike is settled• Almost all factories are unionized

• Triangle Factory remains non-union

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1. Locked door to the stair well2. Rusty fire escape that collapsed3. Cluttered work spaces4. Short ladders only reached 6th

floor5. Not enough water pressure6. Long wooden tables became obstacles7. Wicker baskets full of scraps8. Oily floors spread the fire quickly9. Fire nets failed to catch jumpers10. No sprinkler system, only pails of water11. Flammable barrel of oil12. Boxes crowding the exit13. Lack of a required third staircase

9th Floor Layout

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The FireSaturday March 25, 1911

I. 4:45 p.m. - Begins on the 8th Floor

I. Smoke fills 9th floor immediatelyII. Panicked workers run for the

exits.I. Washington St. Door is locked.II. Elevator only holds 10-15III. Fire Escape is rusted and collapses

III. Owners escape by going to roofI. They cross to adjacent building

IV. Women jump from windowsI. Nets are ripped from firemen’s

handsV. Ladders only reach 6th floor

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The AftermathThousands lined the street for the funerals

Triangle workers were seen as “Heroes”Blanck and Harris were charged

Tried and acquitted

New York State Legislature Factory Safety Commission

30 new laws Minimum Wage Maximum hours Workplace conditions

Strengthened Child Labor Laws

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Works CitedCornell University, ILR School, Kheel Center. Remembering The 1911 Triangle Factory Fire. 2011. Web page. 30 May 2015.

Triangle Fire. Dir. Jamilla Wignot. PBS Public Broadcasting Corporation. 2011. TV Show, Online.

trianglefire.info. Triangle Fire. 2011. Web Page. 30 May 2015.