Preview

Triangle Fire

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
936 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Triangle Fire
Lets Head Out The Fire Escape!...
What Fire Escape?

Once upon a time, in an age of laissez-faire, there erupted a horrible fire in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Usually fires aren’t as a big of a deal in comparison to other natural disasters such as earthquakes. But when the number of deaths pass 100 from a fire, something must be wrong in that picture. Statistically, fires have only had a few deaths as total and a number of people who are injured. But during this time, reality hit and the world discovered the hidden truth of manufacturers. So many things were taking place during this time, from workers being mistreated and overused to the low pay rate that many people had to deal with.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was an event that held relevance in American history. On March, 25, 1911 at approximately 4:40 PM a fire broke out in the company's factory in New York City which was the deadliest industrial disaster. 147 workers died in that incident, they either died from the fire or jumped from the window. It was considered the most tragic fire incident in New York City. "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 and safer working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry" (Wikipedia)
To a large extent, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire brought about many strikes and was a disaster that still lives among us (affecting us nowadays). This disaster then again lives with us for good. It will remind us for whom we have neglected upon. This way we can support the working world, as we will get the same sociability from them and others by cooperating. The fire that occurred was in many ways a disaster. However many people throughout the world (especially workers), are thankful that it led to realizing the lives of the poor workers throughout the country.
The fire occurred due to the poor and unsafe working

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I am doing my report on what the impact of the Triangle Factory Fire has to do with how our world. It obviously has had many changes and impacted a lot on our world.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    On March 25, 1947, a blast in Centralia Coal Mine killed 111 workers. Centralia Coal Mine No. 5 had been operational since 1907 and had never suffered a major disaster. Prior to this event only four shotfirers were killed in 1921 (Fleege). Because of the safety record of the mine, it was considered relatively safe and a disaster seemed remote. The United States had just ended a war and the economy was picking up and production needs were relatively high. Mine operators were being pushed by the federal government to produce as much coal as possible to meet the demands of the robust economy. Because of the demand, safety factors in the mines were not a top priority, therefore, conditions deteriorated tremendously during this period.…

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before getting into the ideological specifics, it’s crucial to understand the context surrounding this source. Clara Lemlich was a member of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, and initiated the 1909 walkout of shirtwaist makers with her call for a strike. This strike was called in protest to the deplorable conditions described in the source, as well the abysmal precautions taken to prevent fires and industrial accidents. For instance, a report on fire traps, published less than 2 years later, argued that many New York City building lacked “even the most indispensable precautions necessary.” 9 days later, a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, claiming the lives of 146 victims - mostly young women. These victims…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    March 25, 1911 started out as a normal work day for Sadie and the other 500 workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. But near the end of the day, a fire broke out on the top three floors of the Asch Building where she was working. Within thirty minutes, the building was engulfed in flames and approximately 146 workers (Introduction Fire!), mostly young women including Sadie, either burned or fell to their deaths. Historians have debated who should be held responsible for the…

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire that occurred in New York City on March 25th 1911, was truly a tragedy in American history. So many lives were lost due to circumstances that could have been avoided. This disaster left a lasting impact on society during that time and due to lessons learned, resulted in workplace changes and triggered many new laws.…

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Blanck and Harris were no strangers to fires. This was the second fire for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the first one being in 1902. They also owned another factory, Diamond Waist Company factory. This factory burned twice as well, once in 1907 and again in 1910. Investigators found that they were deliberately setting fires in their factories to receive an insurance check.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the morning of March 25, 1911, the Triangle Waist Company had a fire breakout which killed 141 young girls and an about 5 of them men. This fire is believed to have started by cigarettes or matches that had been thrown in a pile of waste, and witnessed to have ended in being the greatest industrial disaster till that time. This company broke numerous amount of laws that were created to protect the workers, such as not being allowed to have doors locked during working hours and having correct dimensions of the fire escape, and because of this many men and women suffered severely before their deaths. This incident brought attention to the world and revealed how dangerous the conditions were for the working people. The Triangle Waist Factory…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Near closing time on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Asch Building in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Within minutes, the quiet spring afternoon into madness, a terrifying moment in time, disrupting forever the lives of young workers. By the time the fire was over, 146 of the 500 employees had died. The survivors were left to live and relive those agonizing moments. The victims and their families, the people passing by who witnessed the desperate leaps from ninth floor windows, and the City of New York would never be the same. The images of death were seared deeply in their mind's eyes.…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Published in 2004 by Gover Atlantic Inc, David Von Brehle wrote Triangle: The Fire That Changed America that recounted that fateful day at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on March 26, 1911. Von Brehle portrayed not only the horrors of the trapped workers in the factory but also included the poor state of worker's safety and low wages. Von Brehle's purpose of writing about the Triangle disaster is to inform readers that factory conditions in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century were very unsafe as employees worked for very little pay.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The tragedy of the triangle shirtwaist factory fire sparked the uprising in the fight for better shape of the working environment when 145 of the innocent were killed. It was that it began in a small rag bin, a simple target for a fire in a building with locked fire escape routes, unoperational elevators, and no ventilation, that initiated the fight for worker safety. Although most hand-made garment businesses have been made irrelevant in the U.S. due to industrialization and mass production today, the tragedy of the Triangle Waist Factory fire should be included in next year’s edition of textbooks because it sparked a revolution for labor unions that succeeded in the fight for better working conditions.…

    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Without the Triangle fire, these conditions would not have been called forth to investigate. In the meatpacking industry, workers fingers would get chopped by accident when cutting the tough meat. Randy Dotinga from the Christian Science Monitor stated “the Triangle fire presents a picture of a changing country, revealing callous carelessness at the top of society and the strength and will at the bottom.” The owners of these industries did not care about the workers. All they were worried about was how much product could be made a day and that nothing went wasted.One reason why the fire grew so quikly was because “Rows of sewing machines sat crammed together on long wooden tables. When [the workers] sat down to sew, it was difficult for others to walk through the aisles. On the floor were baskets filled with fabric and cloth scraps.” The safety laws put a stop to the dirty floors and crammed…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The events of the Triangle Fire of 1911 are incredibly relevant to today’s society. Workers’ rights and safety continues to be a heated topic for debate. Though many people may believe such an issue has been put to rest with our technologically advanced time and our progressive state of mind, the truth of the matter is immigrant and foreign workers are still being exploited in the workplace.…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889 was a tremendous impact and “significant turning point” in Seattle's history. The fire left nothing, but little. The fire destroyed everything in it’s way and anything else flammable. The destruction the fire made were estimated at $20 million. In my opinion, the fire impacted everyone even if they don’t live in Seattle because it made them realize how one simple mistake can affect anyone in general.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Triangle Shirt Waist factory tragedy marked the beginning of workplace safety reform. When the factory caught on fire in 1911, over 150 women died due to lack of fire escapes. The government stepped in after this event and passed many new laws to better regulate building codes and keep workers safer. Louis Brandeis' work in the case Muller vs. Oregon and the later Adamson act (unrelated to Brandeis) of 1912 were both a part of this new workplace reform. Because of the low standards of society during this…

    • 917 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This was a time of enlightenment about certain political, economical, and social ideas. The concept of consumer safety was brought to scrutiny when unions began to form in the workplace. Factory and other processing plant workers would protest against the poor and unhealthy conditions that they had to suffer through regularly. This then sparked the idea that if the employees were working in squalor, than the product was being produced in squalor as well. Due to the realization that the poor conditions could possibly endangering the consumer, the U.S. government stepped in and decided to come between large companies and the health of the…

    • 1484 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays