On Tuesday, March 25, it will be the 114th anniversary of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The podcast History This Week has an episode titled " Fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist" about this tragic event. It is a History Channel original podcast. You learn about the cause of the fire, what happened during it, and the advocacy for workers’ rights following the incident. This podcast provides an excellent summary of the fire and illustrates its historical significance.
At the beginning of the episode, you are given gruesome statistics about working conditions in 1911. Horribly, an average of 100 people died on the job everyday that year. The working conditions were unsurprisingly poor at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, which is the reason for the high fatality rate during the fire. Poor conditions included overcrowded work spaces and exit doors locked to prevent theft.
The fire at the factory was the result of scraps of garment that caught on fire by either a match or cigarette. Efforts at putting out the fire were unsuccessful and the fire spread quickly. The owners of the factory were notified of the fire and they escaped but many workers did not. Fire consumed the stairs and an exit door was locked, which prevented people from escaping. Workers jumped to their deaths rather than being burned alive. In total, 146 people were killed during the fire. The majority of the victims were teenage girls..
Following the tragedy, committees were formed to improve factory safety and women that testified before them, including Clara Lemlich and Frances Perkins, gave persuasive testimonies that helped implement laws that required factories to have sprinklers, unlocked factory doors, and mandatory fire drills.
I highly recommend this podcast to anyone interested in learning about the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The large number of women that died during the fire and women's advocacy for workers’ rights make it an educational podcast to listen to during Women’s History Month.
Books about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and Sweatshop Reform in American History by Suzanne Lieurance
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle
Michael Walsh is an Adult Services Librarian who works at the Will Library. He is currently reading The Devil of Unrest by Erik Larson.