Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Essay

A seemingly uncorrelated death of a child becomes an attack on two businesses that brought forth unwanted attention. It reveals how corporations can truly neglect their surroundings and the safety of citizens without remorse. In the quaint town of Woburn, Massachusetts, the death of Anne Anderson’s son due to leukemia quickly transformed from a personal tragedy to an extensive lawsuit. Anne Anderson approached Jan Schlichtmann, a personal injury lawyer, to tackle the case. From the beginning, Anne makes it clear that she does not want money, she simply wants an apology.

The manager at the time of the fire attempted to put to the fire using a fire hose but it was unsuccessful, as the hose was rusted shut from not being used. As the fire began to spread, panic began to increase. The frantic workers ran to the elevator but it could only hold 12 people at a time, and could only make 4 trips until it broke down due to the heat of the flames. Others fled to the stairs, only to find a locked door, many were burned alive. Many girls took a drastic measure and plunged out the windows to their deaths, the dead jumpers piled up along the cement.

Despite the death and destruction it caused, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire ultimately benefited America by opening the eyes of mistreated factory workers and inspiring them to fight for better working conditions. Though it was unbeknownst at the time, the fire would inspire mistreated workers to rise out of the ashes and work tirelessly not for a factory, but for their own wellbeing. The history, the fire, and the trial that are all connected to the Triangle Shirtwaist Company are the events that led to the exploration for better working conditions. While we may not wish to remember all of the suffering the conflagration caused, we see its imprint it left on society whenever we see someone at work. This just imprint is one of safety.

One of the biggest workplace disasters in the American industrial history was The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in Manhattan, New York. On March 25 of 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory, which manufactured women blouses, erupted in flames, killing 146 people and injuring nearly 71. Most of the people killed and injured by the fire were women and children. This incident caused an outrage among labor workers against hazardous working environments in factories not just in New York but also in many industrial centers all over the states.

Because of the fire, many new safety regulations have been issued. “Every building has to have a enforced fire drill and fire alarms” to keep the workers safe (The Labor Law). In 1970, the government created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to make sure that the new safety regulations were being enforced. The girls in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire all died a horrific

The Triangle Waist Company Fire could’ve been prevented in many ways. But first i’m going to tell you what was wrong with the workplace. Max Blanck violated many safety precautions that would be punishable today. Some are, cloth scraps piled up under the table, thin aisles between each line of machines, tissue paper patterns hanging from the ceiling, men smoking in the workplace, and many more.

If there were ever a fire in a building, I would not want it on my conscience. Afterword, a suspicious fire did occur at the I-Hotel on March 13, 1969 which killed three tenants. Because of this, Shorenstein, reiterated his point of the building being “deteriorated and unlivable.” That the tenants wouldn’t have died if they’d evacuated the building sooner. However, this didn’t deter activists and the tenants.

In April 2013, Matthew Yglesias, an American Economics Journalist proposed the people of Bangladesh would not appreciate having stronger safety standards in their country because it would cause undue harm economically. He asserts Bangladesh should have different lower standards for safety because they are a poorer country. Most of the people involved in the New York tragedy of 1911 also known as the Triangle Fire, would not agree with Matthew Yglesias on his assertion that lower economic status would be an indication of lower safety standards in factories. Namely, the workers, the union leaders, the progressive reformers and the political leaders would all vote for higher standards commiserate with the United States. The only ones who would not argue with Yglesias are the owners of the Triangle Factory with their vested interest, their own problems of multiple fires and accusations of safety neglect.

Even though many people died, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was not a tragedy because labor unions strengthened, organizations were created to investigate sweatshops and other factories, and fire prevention laws

The New York Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is infamous as one of the deadliest industrial disasters in United States history. However, it is was a turning point for American labor. The public outrage that erupted following the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was the primary force behind the expansion of labor laws in the United States of America. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire led to the expansion of labor laws because of its conditions.

The building only had one fire escape, that was one fire hazard, and it broke during the fire because so many people were trying to get away from the screaming flames. Long tables and big machines trapped many of the workers from escaping. Panicked workers were crushed as they struggled with doors that were locked by Blanck and harris to prevent theft, little did they know that they were trapping there employees from eascaping the roaring flames. “Only a few buckets of water were on hand to douse the flames. They didn't have sprinklers or anything else to put fires out.

On this day 105 years ago, 145 employees lost their lives (OSHA par 1). Because of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire and the people harmed, new regulations and machinery have been incorporated to ensure the safety of all workers. When the fire broke out, men jumped up to help, reaching for the fire hose however it had been rusted through being useless as was the fire escape. Only one out of the four elevators worked causing a traffic jam leading many women to jump out the windows to their deaths (History Staff par 2). By the time the fire department arrived, many women had already burned to death and the factory was on its way to ashes.

Could the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory have been prevented? I am not going to answer that question just yet. Without assessing all of the information to prevent the making of unfounded accusations. First things first you may be asking yourself what a Triangle Shirtwaist is. A triangle shirtwaist is a type of blouse that many women wore in the early 1900's.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was a devastating fire that killed 146 girls in New York City (Leap for Life, Leap for Death). At this time, citizens of New York were furious and demanded that the government do something to prevent future tragedies. The government responded and the reforms that the government made, it changed the future of New York industry. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, one of history’s deadliest fires, came as a result of outrageously unsafe working conditions, led to a high death toll and injury total, but, ultimately resulted in reforms that helped safeguard future factory workers.

After the fire, the horrible event made factories transparent to Americans and Americans realized that industrial workers were being treated unfairly. The tragedy exposed the inhumane working conditions that the industrial workers had to the government also, so social reform became the nation’s number one issue to focus on. Countless state and federal laws were passed in direct relation to this incident. This event affects Americans today because it played a key role in the laws and regulation we have in the