fire

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

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Yesterday was the 112th anniversary of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. This tragedy has become synonymous with workplace safety and ongoing regulations to protect workers. There were so many things wrong with the working conditions at Triangle Shirtwaist that it’s hard to believe that at the time none of it was illegal:

  • Stairwells and exits were locked.
  • There were no fire alarms to alert anyone to the fire.
  • There was a single fire escape.
  • In addition, fire department ladders, when they finally did arrive could only reach the seventh floor.

As a direct result of this fire, many changes, thanks to unions and current OSHA requirements have made things safer, but as we can see in today’s news, deregulation of trains and how chemicals are transported led directly to the Norfolk Southern train derailment and the new Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, signed into law a roll back of child labor laws, allowing children, ages 14 and 15 to not fill out a form for work, commonly known as working papers. Other child labor laws remain in effect. In the case of Ohio, the governor took advice, not from the professionals but from the CEO of the train company to burn the chemicals in a controlled way. This led to people being evacuated and becoming ill. The CEO chose the most cost-effective option rather than the safest in many people’s opinions. Actions like these will likely lead to environmental disasters and workplace injuries that will affect these children for their lifetimes.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was situated in the Asch Building on the corner of Greene St. and Washington Place in Greenwich Village’s garment district. It resided on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors and employed about 500 workers, mostly immigrants, mostly young Italian and Jewish women and girls who worked fifty-two hours a week including Saturday, earning between $7 and $12 a week.

Sketch of a Shirtwaist. (c)2023

The fire broke out around closing time. The only warning was someone on the 8th floor calling the 10th to warn of the fire on the 9th floor. The common practice of locking stairwells and exits was in effect and the person who held the stairway key had already escaped. Dozens escaped by going to the roof. A crowd escaped to a single fire escape which buckled from the heat and the weight and collapsed sending about twenty to their deaths on the ground below. 146 people died and 78 were injured.

Fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, 1911. Public Doman

As for the fire, arson was not suspected despite four previous fires considered suspicious by companies owned by the same two co-owners.

The fire spurred a host of new labor laws including minimum wage and worker protections that included adequate bathroom facilities and a lessening of working hours for women and children. It also saw the burgeoning advancement of unions including the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, which had been established in 1900 and only expanded and diversified after the fire.

In Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn is a memorial to the six unidentified victims. They have recently been identified and their names were added to the list of victims known since 1911.

Today the building is the Brown Building and is part of the New York University campus and part of the National Historic Register.

For more information on this tragedy and its aftermath, check out the links below:

Logo for the ILGWU. Public Domain.

International Women’s Garment Workers Union

OSHA and the Triangle Factory Fire

Triangle Factory Fire

Unite Here and the Triangle Factory Fire

Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Tragedy

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We were at a work event for my son’s job this afternoon when I found out that the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was on fire. Just the view on the computer screen with the white smoke, the bright orange flames licking the stones and rising higher and higher was speech stopping; it was mind-numbing to me. I have a sensitivity to viewing buildings burning. I think it brings me to 9/11, it brings me to California wildfire devastation, and with television and social media it brings it literally into our fingertips.

As of this writing, I believe the two towers have been saved even though the spire collapsed. One of the rose stained glass windows was destroyed, but three remained. The statues that had been on the spire were removed four days ago as part of the renovation. The art, artifacts, and holy relics were saved after being removed during the fire. These are all good things.

This church is nearly one thousand years old. The person who laid the first stone was not alive at its completion. As it has been before, it will be rebuilt because like the church of people remains in perpetuity, the building will be repaired, rebuilt, and it won’t be the last time. The idea, the ideal of the church family lives on in the people who will return to Notre Dame.

In the meantime, we can mourn the physical building as we mourn the death of a loved one and know it will rise again.

I have never been to Notre Dame in Paris, France, but my son visited while on a school trip in his senior year in high school. Knowing how close I am to my own local church and my Catholic devotion brought this home for my souvenir from his visit, ironically also during Holy Week. It sits on my bookshelf where I look at it every now and then, and after seeing the cathedral burning, upon coming home I took this pewter replica in my hand and turned it over, touching the carvings, pressing on the spire, tracing the cuneiform. It was sad and comforting at the same time. (c)2019

Fire Safety

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This week is Fire Prevention Week. My son, who recently graduated from Fire Fighter I had two Fire House Open Houses this past weekend. Local firefighters came to my daughter’s elementary school to talk about fire safety, show the kids the equipment to expect the firefighters to wear, and gave out pencils and fire extinguisher sharpeners. It’s a good way to get the kids involved and to ask their parents questions to keep the whole family safe.

Some suggestions and important things to remember:

1. Do you have smoke detectors on every floor of your house? And inside every bedroom?

2. For second floor bedrooms, do you have an escape ladder or fire escape for your apartment?

3. Do your smoke detectors work? (A good rule of thumb is to change your batteries twice a year – when you change your clocks for Daylight Saving Time, change your smoke detector batteries.)

4. Before you go to bed, clean and straighten your house. Make sure there is a clear path to your exits.

5. Have a meeting place that is away from your house that even the youngest children can remember and find.

6.  My mother always had an emergency bag next to her bed. In it, she kept a flashlight, an emergency phone list, a bottle of water, an extra set of prescription medication, and sometimes a cell phone. I don’t think she ever used it for an emergency, but being prepared is still a good plan to have.

7. Get out of the house, and THEN CALL 9-1-1 from a neighbor’s house or from your cell phone.