On the Deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Garment Factory Fire in New York City

Continued from Part 2. The final toll from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was set at 146 dead and 71 injured. The final toll in the Savar Rana Plaza Building collapse is not yet available, but our building collapse attorneys point out that already the toll is over 300 dead and 2000 injured. And many believe that there are still more buried beneath the rubble.

This deadly Rana Plaza collapse in Savar that has taken such a high toll is only one among several deadly garment factory collapses or fires in Bangladesh over recent years. At last report, none of the factory owners or managers responsible for thousands of workers being on site in Savar in a building already identified as being in danger of imminent collapse had been arrested.

The disregard for worker safety that managers and owners at Rana Plaza displayed and the fatal consequences bring to mind the deadly fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City in 1911.

The True Horror of the Triangle Shirtwaist Garment Factory Fire

 

Eyewitness accounts of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City in 1911 describe horrific scenes of workers jumping 80 to 100 feet to their deaths and of hysterical onlookers fainting as bodies thudded into bloody pulp before their eyes. Our building collapse attorneys sadly mention that some workers who had tried to escape the burning building on a rickety, possibly already broken, outside fire escape fell almost 100 feet to their deaths when the fire escape twisted away from the building and collapsed beneath them.

The owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, which occupied the upper floors of the 10-story Asch Building by Washington Square in Manhattan, had locked exits to stairwells to prevent unauthorized breaks or theft. So when fire broke out among bins of fabric scraps and hanging rolls of fabric, the workers could not escape. They were left to jump to their deaths or burn.

The Aftermath of the Deadly Garment Factory Fire and Improvements to Working Conditions

The building collapse attorneys at Denena Points, PC note a few positive developments from the tragic garment factory fire in New York City. The deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City brought attention to workers’ conditions, particularly in the garment factories of the time. The attention led to reforms like new legislation limiting working hours and providing for better working conditions and fire extinguishers on site. The fire was the real beginning of the workers’ rights movement in the United States.

Our building collapse attorneys remark that the Triangle Shirtwaist fire also led to the founding of the American Society of Safety Engineers and the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). Some of you may remember TV commercials from some years ago with workers singing, “Look for the union label.” That’s the label they were talking about.

Continue to Part 4 for discussion of needed improvement to working conditions.