Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: 100 Year Anniversary

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, 25 March 1911. Source.

Friday was the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The factory caught fire during the workday, but the doors were locked from the outside to prevent the theft among the laborers, the fire escapes were faulty, and when the fire department arrived, their ladders only reached to the 6th floor. People began jumping from the 9th and 10th floors, but the firemen's  nets were not strong enough to safely break their falls. 148 mostly Italian and Jewish immigrant men, women, and children died within 18 minutes, and it still stands as the worst factory fire in US history.

Obviously this had a profound effect on fire and building codes, worker safety issues, etc - and thus on building design - but I also think it's worth a moment to remind ourselves of the incredible events that often have to happen before people remove their heads from, ahem, you-know-where. These same workers joined a 20,000-person march two years before, protesting factory working conditions, to almost no effect, and two years after the fire, the Triangle Factory owners were fined $25 for again locking the doors of their factory.

That building was built to existing codes and regulations - in fact, it was considered "fire-proof." But code, even today, is just a passing grade - a "C." What kind of buildings would we build if we went for an "A?" What impact would they have, beyond just keeping the rain out and us inside, on us, on society? I for one mean to find out.

A great site for more information is here.