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Triangle shirt waist factory fire
Triangle shirtwaist factory fire research report essay
Triangle shirtwaist factory fire research report essay
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Historic Fires, Their Protection System Failures and Modern Day Systems
Craig E. Demarais
American Military University
Abstract
Throughout history there have been fires where the findings discussed a failure of having an installed fire protection system and/or egress issue that has resulted in a loss of life. This paper will give a summary of the fire as well as elaborate on the findings post fire and then discuss what we know today that could have prevented the tragedy utilizing modern day fire protection systems.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire occurred on March 25th, 1911 in Manhattan, New York and “was the deadliest industrial disaster in history for the city and one of the deadliest in United
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States history. The fire caused a total of 146 deaths, of that 123 were women and 23 were men. The causes of death ranged from fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths (1).” There were several factors that led to this disaster being larger than it should have been. First off, the owners locked the doors to the exits and stairwells.
With those being the primary egress routes out of the building they should have never been locked. The owners locked these doors for multiple reasons. Being that the bulk of the workers were new immigrants who were living in poverty there was a plethora of thefts taking place. The immigrant workers would then sell garments or materials outside for their own profit. Another reason is that the workers were treated poorly and constantly wanted to take smoke breaks to break up the monotony of the mind numbing work. Because of that workers began to sneak smoke breaks in doors while working. Here lies the first issue. “The Fire Marshal concluded that the likely cause of the fire was the disposal of an unextinguished match or cigarette butt in the scrap bin, which held two months' worth of accumulated cuttings by the time of the fire (14).” Beneath the table in the wooden bin were hundreds of pounds of scraps which were left over from the several thousand shirtwaists that had been cut at that table. The scraps piled up from the last time the bin was emptied, coupled with the hanging fabrics that surrounded it; the steel trim was the only thing that was not highly flammable (15).” There was also no audible alarms present in the building to signify a fire had erupted nor was there a fire suppression system or sprinkler system installed. In light of this disaster there were a lot of changes instituted in …show more content…
the workplace. As recent at 1970 the ASSE was instrumental in “achieving passage of the Occupational Health & Safety Act (OSHA) of 1970 and in establishing the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (444)”.
OSHA is commonly utilized today in the workplace. After the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire employers started to realize the debt they are owed to their employees and changes came about. “More than 30 labor-related laws written by the New York (State) Factory Investigating Commission, which was established in response to the fire and has been credited with developing a new model for worker safety in U.S. mills and workshops, eventually were adopted by the state legislature(o)”. Some of those laws require employers to have at least 2 exit doors of which are locked from the inside and do not require anything special to operate. Once those doors are opened the audible alarms sounds notifying all occupants of the fire. Fire suppression systems whether they are chemical or water, usually water, are required by law. Labor laws also require regimented breaks for workers which will prevent workers from taking breaks, such as smoking, while performing job related
activities. References Stacy, Greg. "Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Marks a Sad Centennial". NPR.org via Online Journal (March 24, 2011) Von Drehle, David. "List of Victims". Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. Retrieved November 28, 2012. (p 118) Triangle Shirtwaist fire brought safety changes | Business Insurance. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20110313/ISSUE01/303139973
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire not only affected the city of New York, but also the rest of the country. It forever changed the way our country would look at safety regulations in factories and buildings. The fire proved to America what can and will happen if we over-look safety regulations and over-crowd buildings. Unfortunately, 146 lives are taken before we fully understand this concept.
One of the deadliest nightclub fires in United States history occurred on May 28, 1977, a busy Memorial Day weekend in the suburbs of Cincinnati. The Beverly Hills Supper Club was a popular nightclub located in Southgate, Campbell County, Kentucky in the greater Cincinnati area. It was located on a hill less than 1000 ft. from the highway on seventeen acres of land just three miles from downtown Cincinnati (Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire D-1). It has since become a case study for its numerous code violations and the behavior of the fire from ignition to building collapse. While there is no one contributing factor to the significant loss of life at this facility, a study of the building’s history, the sequence of the fire’s progression, and an analysis of the fire’s chemistry can provide some valuable lessons to the future firefighter.
FIRE SAFETY CODES There were several factors that increased the death toll of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, all of which are now addressed in fire safety codes throughout the United States. Primary contributing factors include locked exit doors, a structurally unfit fire escape ladder, and an empty water tank that was supposed to be reserved for fighting fires (McGuire, 2011). When the fire broke out, the workers immediately attempted to exit through the stairwells and the fire escaped.... ... middle of paper ... ...(1992)
Near closing time on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 1911, in New York City a fire broke out on the top floors of the Asch Building in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. One of the worst tragedies in American history it was know as the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. It was a disaster that took the lives of 146 young immigrant workers. A fire that broke out in a cramped sweatshop that trapped many inside and killed 146 people.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire most of all impacted all forms of industry, and changed the way workers worked. Along with the legislations that impacted women and children, laws also centered on the safety and well being of all workers. One of the main reforms and changes came through the formation of the New York Factory Investigating Commission, or the FIC: a legislative body that investigated the manufacturers for various infractions. They were based on protecting the workers: both their rights and their lives. The FIC investigated countless factories and “enacted eight laws covering fire safety, factory inspections and sanitation.” The FIC was highly focused on the health and safety of industrial workers, making reports and legislation that focused on “fire safety, building construction, machine guarding, heating, lighting, ventilation, and other topics” and on specific industries like “chemicals, lead trades, metal trades, printing shops, sweatshops and mercantile establishments.” Thirteen out of seventeen of the bills submitted by the FIC became laws, and “included measures requiring better fire safety efforts, more adequate factory ventilation, improved sanitation and machine guarding, safe operation of elevators” and other legislations focused for specific establishments.” Fire safety and new fire codes such as “mandate emergency exits, sprinkler systems, and maximum-occupancy laws,” such as the Fire Prevention Act of 1911, were put into place to limit the likelihood that another fire like the one at Triangle would occur, or be as drastic and deathly. Other organizations like the Joint Board of Sanitary Control “set and maintain standards of sanitation in the workplace,” as well as actually enforcing these stand...
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was remembered as one of the most infamous incidents in American industrial history. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was owned by Max Blank and Isaac Harris. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory grew quickly as Max and Isaac moved their business from a little shop by 1901 to the new ten-story Asch building at the top three floors. There were approximately five hundred workers who worked in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company at the time while the fire broke out. The workers were mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women (Campbell 210-212). The incident happened in Manhattan, New York City in March, 25, 1911; also, as one important event that held relevance in American .This incident was the deadliest industrial disaster. 146 workers died, and they either died from the fire or jumped from the window. They jumped out from the window because the fire trucks’ ladders could only reach up to the seventh floor. After the incident, there were demands for enhanced law to protect workers health and safety, including factory fire codes and child labor law that helped shape future labor laws; however, there was evidence that the fire wouldn’t have happened if the company owners had listened to the warnings, and the owners were found unfairly not guilty in the court.
“The old Inquisition had its rack and its thumbscrews and its instruments of torture with iron teeth. We know what these things are today: the iron teeth are our necessities, the thumbscrews, the high-powered and swift machinery close to which we must work, and the rack is here in the ‘fireproof’ structures that will destroy us the minute they catch on fire,” suffragist Rose Schneiderman vehemently declared in a memorial speech after the terrible tragedy that occurred more than a century ago. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was one of the deadliest industrial disasters in United States history. Taking place on March 25, 1911 in New York City, a fire broke out on the 8th floor of the factory, spreading quickly to the 9th and 10th floors,
The Our Lady of Angels school house was a type 3 construction. The school was divided into two wings the north and south wings. The fire started in the basement of the north wing near the boiler room and burned undiscovered in a stairwell until the heat of the fire became too great and broke a window adjacent to the staircase under demolition by fire and caused an influx of new oxygen to fuel the flames. Some important things to note about the construction of the school are: One, that all major exits and the stairwells were made of combustible materials. Two, that there was only one fire exit located at the end of the hall on the second floor in an unprotected corridor Near the stairwell close to the source of the fire. Lastly, there was no fire protection, there were no sprinklers or fire pull stations located in the north wing and all of the 5 extinguishers that were present were located seven feet off of the ground which made access to them incredibly difficult even for adults.
Through the Progressive Era, many advances were made in America. Not all of those came easy though. Citizens of America all were taking a stand. Fighting for their rights within the work place. Many were striking against low wages, dangerous working conditions and management’s refusals to recognize any unions. One of the largest strikes of women during the Progressive Era was from the garment workers in New York City. Unfortunately, it failed to bring any changes to the garment-making industry at the time, but soon after everything fell into place creating a devastating event that soon led to
Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after this fire, and the work industry would never remain the same again.
'Is it true that long ago firemen put fires out instead of going to start them?’ ‘No. Houses. have always been fireproof, take my word for it.’ ‘Strange. I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames.’ He laughed.
During the early 1900s industrial fires or accidents were common place; injuries and the loss of life may have outraged a few people but like all tragedies the outrage would pass quickly and it would back to business as usual. One such tragedy occurred on Saturday, March 25th, 1911, it was closing time at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and hundreds of employees were preparing to leave when a fire broke out on the 8th floor trapping Jewish and Italian immigrants, the majority of them young women. One hundred and forty-six people died in futile attempts to escape the burning ten story building. The main doors were during the day kept locked and only one doorway was opened for the hundreds of employees to file out, one by one, as their belongings were searched for pilfered goods. Blanck and Harris, owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, faced no consequences in regards to the unsafe working environment and the death of their employees. David von Drehle, in his book, Triangle, The Fire That Changed America, states that this particular fire changed the political and industrial landscape of the United States; it was no longer ignored by the working masses nor was it quickly dismissed by the public - the public consisted of a huge immigration population from Europe, the “transfer of labor power and brain power” that eventually lead to women’s striking in the garment industry and setting a precedent in New York (Triangle, 3, 4). Several groups like the moneyed, educated elite women, the muckrakers, the Labor Unions, and the political machines that controlled neighborhoods of New York pushed for political, economic, and legal changes to the industrial systems - in a democratic social time of reform – they were like much welcomed rain ...
The most pressing issue facing Detroit, in regard to fire, is the steady amount of burning vacant or delipidated buildings, and second to that is the high rate of home fires. For the purposes of this project, the capabilities of
Fire safety education is a crucial aspect of fire prevention. The general public needs to know how big of a threat fire is to them and how they can do things in their everyday lives to improve their safety, as well as preventing the threat of fire to begin with. The commission also realized that it was critically important that people know how to properly act once a fire has started. It is important that people have the knowledge to act quickly, safely, and effectively. When people don’t understand fire they can react in many negative ways such as panicking, not evacuating effectively, or by trying to fight a fire that they are not going to be able to extinguish. All these human reactions can decrease safety and end with tragic results. In the commission’s report they approximate that nearly 70 percent of all building fires were due to people acting carelessly because they did not understand the fire dangers that were present. The commission cited studies like one conducted in southeast Missouri. In the southeast Missouri community, a huge emphasis was put into public fire safety education because the fire death rate of the community was much higher than the national average. After increasing fire safety education in the community it was no surprise that the rate of deaths and injuries decreased
Throughout recorded history, fires have been known to cause great loss of life, property, and knowledge. The Great Fire of London was easily one of the worst fires mankind has ever seen causing large scale destruction and terror. Samuel Pepys described the fire as “A most malicious bloody flame, as one entire arch of fire of above a mile long… the churches, houses and all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made.” (Britain Express 1).