Overview

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was one of the largest industrial disasters in the history of the city of New York, causing the death of 146 garment workers, almost all of them women, who either died from the fire or jumped from the fatal height. It was the worst workplace disaster in New York City until September 11, 2001. Most women could not escape the burning building because the managers would lock the doors to the stairwells and exits to keep the workers from taking cigarette breaks outdoors during their shifts. Women jumped from the ninth and tenth stories as the ladders on the fire trucks could not reach these. 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. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located inside the Asch Building, now known as the Brown Building of Science. It has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark.

References

• Triangle Shirtwaist fire - wikipedia
• Triangle Shirtwaist fire - Cornell University Library The Kheel Center, Catherwood Library, ILR School at Cornell.

Further reading

• Mary Jane Auch (2002). Ashes of Roses. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-8050-6686-1.
• David von Drehle (2003). Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-874-3.
• Leon Stein (1962). The Triangle Fire. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801487145.
• Katharine Weber (2007). Triangle. Picador. ISBN 978-0374281427.