Triangle Fire Research Paper

The event of the fire was exceedingly devastating chiefly caused by the extreme lack of fire safety in the era. To begin with, the materials used in making the shirtwaists were highly flammable in themselves. When the scraps from the garments and their patterns were piled in large bins, the perfect environment for igniting and fueling a fire was created, as detailed in the book, “Those airy scraps of sheer fabric and tissue paper, loosely heaped and full of oxygen, amounted to a virtual firebomb” (119). With the insufficient rules, meant to keep the flammable scraps from fire, largely unenforced, catastrophic events were sure to follow. Von Drehle addresses the issue that “the Triangle Waist Company had a no-smoking policy…but the cutters behaved …show more content…
Von Drehle shares that after the 1911 Triangle fire, a fire Marshall “[concluded that] someone tossed a match or a cigarette into [a] scrap bin” (119). During this specific event, workers rushed to use the stored water buckets to put out the fires, but it proved to not be enough, so they attempted to utilize the hoses available to them. This system ended up not working due to factors including low water pressure. With no internal source of water, there was essentially no way to extinguish the flames from inside the building. In present day America, there are specific fire codes to ensure flammable products are kept securely confined to fire proof containers. Sprinkler systems are required in many buildings to provide a reliable and automatic emergency water …show more content…
During the notorious Triangle fire, workers rushed to escape the burning building, only to find most of the designated escape routes to be locked, blocked, or inaccessible. The low capacity elevators served limited use once their entrances became bombarded with panicked workers attempting to exit the flame-engulfed building. Some doors leading to the stairs were locked, rendering them useless, and trapping the workers in the building. Other “stairway landings were too narrow to accommodate outward swinging doors,” (123) pinning swarms of workers inside the rooms. Another alternate method of exiting the building was a flimsy fire escape, which became mangled under the weight of dozens of women. “City officials…had allowed…a little fire escape [to be hung] in place of the required third stairway,” (118) when the building the Triangle factory was in was built. This influenced modern fire codes to be written to guarantee that buildings, especially those that are multi-level, have multiple fire exits that are unblocked and sturdy. Regulations require frequent inspections to ensure companies are following the