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Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire facts for kids

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On March 25, 1911 a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory which was located on floors 8, 9 and 10 of the Asch Building at 23–29 Washington Pl, Manhattan, New York City. The fire stopped after 20 minutes but 146 workers died.

TriangleFireengine crop
A horse-drawn fire engine en route to the burning factory
Image of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25 - 1911
The Fire at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory MArch 25,1911
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire building
The Asch Building in 2011

The company's owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, who survived the fire by going to the building's roof when the fire started, were indicted on charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter in mid-April; the pair's trial began on December 4, 1911. Max Steuer, counsel for the defendants, managed to destroy the credibility of one of the survivors, Kate Alterman, by asking her to repeat her testimony a number of times, which she did without altering key phrases. Steuer argued to the jury that Alterman and possibly other witnesses had memorized their statements, and might even have been told what to say by the prosecutors. The prosecution charged that the owners knew the exit doors were locked at the time in question. The investigation found that the locks were intended to be locked during working hours based on the findings from the fire, but the defense stressed that the prosecution failed to prove that the owners knew that. The jury acquitted the two men of first- and second-degree manslaughter, but they were found liable of wrongful death during a subsequent civil suit in 1913 in which plaintiffs were awarded compensation in the amount of $75 per deceased victim. The insurance company paid Blanck and Harris about $60,000 more than the reported losses, or about $400 per casualty.In 1913, Blanck was once again arrested for locking the door in his factory during working hours. He was fined $20 which was the minimum amount the fine could be. Because of the lax labor laws at the time, this tragedy paved the way for the rise of factory workers safety protections and the formation of workers Unions such as the International Ladies Garment Union.

  • Max Steuer died on August 21, 1940 in Jackson, New Hamsphire.
  • Max Blanck also called Norman Max Blanc died July 10, 1942 in Califrnia.
  • Isaac Harris died 1954 in California

Images for kids

  • A newspaper photograph of an internal staircase in the Asch Building after the Triangle fire (5279144863)

    Asch building's internal staircase

  • Interior of the Triangle Waist Company shop in the Asch Building 9th floor after the Triangle Fire (5279327601)

    The building's 9th floor

  • Interior view of the tenth-floor work area in the Asch Building after the Triangle fire (5279682800)

    The building's 10th floor

  • The Triangle Waist Company fire escape, weakened by the heat of the fire, leads from upper floors of the Asch Building (5279681954)

    The twisted fire escape

  • Newspaper photographs of the Asch Building's exterior after the Triangle fire (5279749194)

    Exterior of the Building

  • Newspaper photgraphs in the New York Evening Journal show the burned Asch Building interior and exterior, March 27, 1911 (5279144149)

    Exterior and Interior of the Building

  • Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, owners of the Triangle Waist Company (5279933972)

    Max Blanck and Isaac Harris

  • Triangle Windows

    The building's south side, with windows marked X from which 50 women jumped

  • Triangle Fire Coalition logo

    Triangle Fire Coalition logo

  • Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Centennial Memorial crop

    Hilda Solis, the American Secretary of Labor, seen on the overhead screen, speaking at the Centennial Memorial; the Brown (Asch) Building is on the far right.

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