How did the Triangle factory catch on fire?

The fire was believed to be started by a discarded cigarette in a waste bin full of highly flammable fabric on the 8th floor (3). As the workers were getting ready to go home after a gruelling day of nonstop physical labor, someone shouted “Fire!”. This sent all of the workers into a panic.

Did the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory have fire escapes?

There were two stairways down to the street, but one was locked from the outside to prevent stealing and the other only opened inward. The fire escape was so narrow that it would have taken hours for all the workers to use it, even in the best of circumstances.

How old was the youngest victim of the Triangle Factory fire?

14
Most of the victims were recent Italian or Jewish immigrant women and girls aged 14 to 23; of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was 43-year-old Providenza Panno, and the youngest were 14-year-olds Kate Leone and Rosaria “Sara” Maltese.

Why was the Washington Place stairway locked?

The Greene Street stairway was blocked by flames, and the Washington Place stairway was locked. It had become common practice for the factory to lock the Washington Place to prevent employee theft. As a result, the only escape routes left for victims were the elevators.

How did Katie Alterman survive the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire?

Alterman then described how she survived a mad dash through the fire raging through the Greene Street stairway: And then I turned my coat on the wrong side and put it on my head with the fur to my face, the lining on the outside, and I got hold of a bunch of dresses and covered the top of my head.

Were the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory found guilty?

Triangle Owners Acquitted by Jury: The jury in the case of Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, owners of the Triangle Waist Company at Washington Place and Greene Street, where 147 persons lost their lives in a fire on March 25 last, who have been on trial in General Sessions for manslaughter in the first and second degrees.

What floor did the Triangle factory fire start on?

One hundred years ago on March 25, fire spread through the cramped Triangle Waist Company garment factory on the 8th, 9th and 10th floors of the Asch Building in lower Manhattan. Workers in the factory, many of whom were young women recently arrived from Europe, had little time or opportunity to escape.

What lessons can be learned from studying the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire?

On March 25, 1911, a preventable garment factory fire in New York killed 146 workers. The 100-year Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire anniversary is a reminder of hard lessons learned about a property owner’s fire safety obligations and the duty to keep one’s property free from dangerous conditions.

How did Harris and Blanck escape the fire?

On March 25, 1911, only 13 months after the strike ended, a fire broke out on the eighth floor of the factory. On the 10th floor, Harris and Blanck were alerted of the fire by phone and escaped to safety by climbing over neighboring rooftops.

Who was held responsible for the Shirtwaist fire?

A fire breaks out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, killing 146 people. Factory co-owners Isaac Harris and Max Blanck are indicted on charges of manslaughter.