Barred Doors: Unlock A Revolution

By: Casey Revilla and Shannon Higgins

Summary The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire occurred on March 25, 1911. It was a fire that

created change. No one knows exactly how the fire started but they were sure that it had fuel from the scraps of clothing that were never recycled. The employees were locked in because one of the owners locked the doors so the employees could not leave earlier than they were suppose to. The fire started at 4:45pm and continued on until 5:15pm. Even though this fire was short it was deadly. There was a total of 146 immigrants who were killed by the fire. This building contained one fire escape but as soon as someone attempted to use it, it crumbled to pieces. When the firefighters came and tried to put out the fire and help people escape the ladders and hoses came up short. So then the people stuck inside finally had the choice to pick their deaths. They could jump out the window and hit the pavement, or burn to death, or suffocate by the smoke. There was also the two elevator operators that were coming up to try to save people. They could only fit so many people in one trip that the workers started to jump down the elevator shaft and thud dead on the top. There were so many workers who jumped on the elevator that the weight of them kept the elevator from going upward.

Strike The strike occurred on September of 1909 The immigrants went on strike for a higher pay

and better working conditions The immigrants needed more money to support

their families

Pictures

These are lady strikers who are fighting for their rights

These are workers working to make money for their families

This is a march for all the workers who were killed in the fire

Trial One of the owners had locked one of the doors and the workers were

stuck in the building. The owners of the factory paid 75 dollars per loss. One of the witnesses of the fire had spoken at trial against the owners

Isaac Harris and Max Blanck. His name was Joseph Zito , he was the elevator boy.

They also had a fireman who tried to stop the fire but their equipment came up short.

There was a worker who survived that was interviewed his name was William Bernstein he worked on the 8th floor.

They interviewed a firemen named, Charles M. Laugh, who witnesses the fire

The owners also had to pay a twenty dollar fine for locking the doors They had to pay a total of $11700 for the fines

How it changed The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire had changed the world in

many ways.

It had changed fire safety. Now we have functioning fire escapes , longer fire hoses, extended fire ladders, and fire extinguishers.

We are more efficient with the awareness of fires occurring.

With better fire safety we can put fires out anywhere.

There are also firemen who go around to schools to teach the children what to do in case of a fire

Fire Safety Now we have more improved fire safety

equipment. Now we can feel more safe that when a fire occurs that we have fire extinguishers and other supplies to attempt to put out the fire.

Fire safety has now improved since passed experiences (ex. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire ) we can be safe and help get rid of fires.

Pictures

This is the only fire escape that crumbled at use

The firemen were trying to put out the fire

The burning

building

This is a example of how owners treated their workers

Victims Aberstein, Julia 30   Adler, Lizzie 24   Altman, Anna 16   Ardito, Anna 25   Astrowsky, Becky 20   Bassino, Rosie 31   Belatta, Vincenza 16   Bellotta, Ignazia

 Benanti, Vincenza 22   Bernstein, Essie 19   Bernstein, Jacob 28   Bernstein, Morris 19   Bernstein, Moses

  Bierman, Gussie 22 Binevitz, Abraham 20   Brenman, Rosie

  Brenman, Surka (Sarah)   Brodsky, Ida 16  

Brodsky, Sarah 21       17  

Victims Brooks, Ida 18   Brunette, Laura 17   Caputta 17   Carlisi, Josep 31   Caruso, Albina 20   Carutto, Frances 17   Castello, Josie 21  Cirrito, Rosie

  Cohen, Anna 25   Colletti, Antonia (Annie) 30   Costello, Della   Crepo, Rose 19   Denent, Grances 20   Dichtenhultz (Fichtenhultz), Yetta 18   Dockman (Dochman), Dora (Clara) 19  

Downic, Kalman 24   Eisenberg, Celia 17   Feibush, Rose

Feicisch(Feibish), Rebecca 17  . Feltzer 40   Fitze, Mrs. Dosie Lopez 24 Forrester, May 25   Franco, Jennie 16  

Victims Frank, Tina 17   Gallo, Mrs. Mary 23   Geib, Bertha 25   Gernstein, Molly 17   Gittlin, Celina 17  

  Goldstein, Esther   Goldstein, Lena 22  

Goldstein, Mary 11   Goldstein, Yetta 20   Gorfield, Esther 22   Grameattassio, Mrs. Irene 24   Harris, Esther 21   Herman, Mary 40   Jakobowski, Ida

Sidewalk ChalkThe families of the victims wrote in front of the victims houses. They wrote in chalk and it said their name, how old they are, how they died, and where they worked.

Timeline 1866- The National Labor Union was formed

1886- The American Federation of Labor was formed

1900 -The International Ladies Garment Workers Union was formed

1901- The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire opens on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the Asch building

June 1909- A fire prevention expert wrote a letter to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory telling the owners to schedule a meeting about improving fire safety, but the letter was ignored

1909-Strike in New York City’s Garment Industry

March 25 1911-(4:45pm)-The fire had started on the 8th floor

March 25 1911-(5:15pm)-The fire reached the 9th and 10th floors

March 25, 1911(8:00) - 60 bodies have been brought down from the upper floors

Timeline Continued… April 2, 1911- National Women’s Trade Union League held a composed protest

lack of fire safety and bringing the owners to court April 5, 1911- International Ladies Garment Workers Union had constructed

funeral procession and a march to honor those who died April 11, 1911-Owners Blanck and Harris accused December 4, 1911-The owners go to trial for manslaughter 1912- Eight new workplaces safety laws created 1913- Twenty-five new workplace safety laws created 1913- Blanck and Harris were warned about safety violations because of locked

doors August 1913- Blanck was charged 20 dollars for locking one of the doors in

the factory during work hours 1914- Lawsuits are brought against Harris and Blanck March 11, 1914- Blank and Harris paid 75 dollars per life lost February 22, 2001- The last survivor, Rose Freedman had died at the age of

107 2003- The Asch building is now called the Brown building and owned by New

York University. The building has become an official landmark

Pictures

The owners; Blank and Harris

Families trying to identify lost loved ones

Workers who jumped to their deaths

This is what the floors look like after the fire

Process Paper Our topic is The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911. This fire occurred at the Asch Building in Manhattan, New York. This topic came

upon us while we were looking at other topics such as The News Boys Strike of 1899. We decided to pick this topic after we did research on it because it interested us how people who worked in factories were treated and the conditions of their work areas. Another reason why we chose this was because of the impact it made on fire safety laws. This specific topic had three different parts to it; the fire, the trial, and the strike. The trial took place because one of the owners locked the doors in the factory and during the fire the employees could not escape. The strike was to promote the safety of all factory employees and how to have owners provide away to evacuate the building in case of a fire.

We conducted our research from many different places such as websites, books, and interviews. We interviewed a woman named Dr. Susan Zeiger, who is an expert on women’s history and works at Primary Source in Watertown. She showed us a book titled “ The Triangle Fire” by Leon Stein. This book had photographs and a poem about working in the factory and the fire. We also had an interview with an author named Brenda Lange, who wrote a book about our topic. Her book was also a great source because it stated information about how people tried to change the laws of fire safety in factories and what happened during and after the fire.

Since our project was about a fire we decided to make our board, look like the building. We screwed four pieces of wood together to look like the building. We then painted one side like bricks and the other like what the Asch Building looked like after the fire. Afterwards, we gathered all our pictures and information and started putting them in their places on our board. Then we added the finishing touches and made it presentable. We also put our title on the top in big letters; “Barred Doors Unlock a Revolution.”

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire relates to the theme of Revolution, Reform, and Reaction in many ways. The fire caused a revolution in fire safety laws for factories. The revolution of fire safety laws occurred because one of the owners of the factories had locked the doors. Sadly, the fire escape wasn’t stable. The reaction was that the fire inspired Frances Perkins to become the Secretary of Labor and make changes to the rights of factory employees. These new rights didn’t take actions until 1970. This fire also helped reform fire safety because now we have smoke detectors, longer fire hoses, longer ladders and fire extinguishers. This fire is well known today because the building is still standing as an official landmark.

 

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuuUms7ckH8

THE END!!!!!