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“Whatever the number, they had no chance of escape” (Argersinger, 73), as only a few remembered the fire escape that was inadequate anyways as it only consisted of “a lone ladder running down to a rear narrow court, which was smoke filled as the fire raged one narrow door giving access to the ladder.” (Argersinger, 73). Given those conditions, the few workers that could have remembered about the fire escape would probably still have died in the incident.
Another fact to be taken into consideration is that the rooms where workers made the shirtwaists were crammed with tissue paper, lace, and muslin goods, all extremely inflammable materials. In addition, the tables were made of wood, and the pressing was done with gas irons, which means that the flame inside the open iron was only an inch away from the goods to be pressed. In his description of the fire, William Shepherd writes “The flames caught all the flimsy lace stuff and linens that go into the making of spring and summer shirtwaists and fed eagerly upon the rolls of silk.” (Argersinger, 74), which perfectly shows the great risk of fires in those factories. Nowadays, fire extinguishers would be found in any kind of factory, especially in a garment factory. However none where to be found in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, “An order had gone out to install automatic sprinklers in factories, but the manufacturers had organized to fight it because I meant so great an expenditure.” (Argersinger, 105). Employers were looking for ways to make as much savings as possible to maximize their profits instead of ensuring a minimum level of security for their workers. Even after the terrible tragedy happened, the new building the Triangle Waist Company used was not even fire proof and “the firm had already blocked the exit to the fire escape by two rows of sewing machines” (Argersinger, 105). The previous building where the fire had happened would only undergo a few repairs and re-open in the same condition it was in before the fire. This illustrates how the owners of the company did not care much about the safety of their factories, thus it comes as no surprise that the working conditions the shirtwaist makers had to endure were also terrible. The hard working conditions in the factories at that time was another reason why the Triangle Fire was an inevitable tragedy doomed to happen one day or another. Although working in factories had long been reserved to men, the fast growing industrialism allowed women to get out of their home to go work in factories. Women and immigrants were the main source of cheap labor that the garment industry required. In The Triangle Fire: A Brief History with Documents, we see that women, even young girls, had to work to help their family financially. Their salary was meager but every dollar counted. Young girls were paid by the hour rather than by the piece, thus employees pushed their workers to work as fast as possible to increase their profit. “The boss is hurrying the life out of me” (Argersinger, 49) tells Rose a young worker to her dad one day after work. Her dad latter explains that this is how her employer can get almost as much work out of her for half the amount a piece worker would cost him. In the document, The Story of a Sweatshop Girl (Argersinger, 50), we see how little Miss Sadie Frowne was put to work when she was just a little over thirteen. …show more content…
The terrible factory conditions, as well as the inhuman working conditions the women had to endure were two of the main reasons why such a tragic incident happened. The strikes that workers performed were further proofs that nobody could tolerate working in such conditions. The fact that employees did not listen to their employee’s complaints lead to the atrocities of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. It is sad that such an event had to happen to make things change, but the deaths of the 146 workers killed in the fire was not in vain as it opened the doors for improvements in the factory workers’
Another fact to be taken into consideration is that the rooms where workers made the shirtwaists were crammed with tissue paper, lace, and muslin goods, all extremely inflammable materials. In addition, the tables were made of wood, and the pressing was done with gas irons, which means that the flame inside the open iron was only an inch away from the goods to be pressed. In his description of the fire, William Shepherd writes “The flames caught all the flimsy lace stuff and linens that go into the making of spring and summer shirtwaists and fed eagerly upon the rolls of silk.” (Argersinger, 74), which perfectly shows the great risk of fires in those factories. Nowadays, fire extinguishers would be found in any kind of factory, especially in a garment factory. However none where to be found in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, “An order had gone out to install automatic sprinklers in factories, but the manufacturers had organized to fight it because I meant so great an expenditure.” (Argersinger, 105). Employers were looking for ways to make as much savings as possible to maximize their profits instead of ensuring a minimum level of security for their workers. Even after the terrible tragedy happened, the new building the Triangle Waist Company used was not even fire proof and “the firm had already blocked the exit to the fire escape by two rows of sewing machines” (Argersinger, 105). The previous building where the fire had happened would only undergo a few repairs and re-open in the same condition it was in before the fire. This illustrates how the owners of the company did not care much about the safety of their factories, thus it comes as no surprise that the working conditions the shirtwaist makers had to endure were also terrible. The hard working conditions in the factories at that time was another reason why the Triangle Fire was an inevitable tragedy doomed to happen one day or another. Although working in factories had long been reserved to men, the fast growing industrialism allowed women to get out of their home to go work in factories. Women and immigrants were the main source of cheap labor that the garment industry required. In The Triangle Fire: A Brief History with Documents, we see that women, even young girls, had to work to help their family financially. Their salary was meager but every dollar counted. Young girls were paid by the hour rather than by the piece, thus employees pushed their workers to work as fast as possible to increase their profit. “The boss is hurrying the life out of me” (Argersinger, 49) tells Rose a young worker to her dad one day after work. Her dad latter explains that this is how her employer can get almost as much work out of her for half the amount a piece worker would cost him. In the document, The Story of a Sweatshop Girl (Argersinger, 50), we see how little Miss Sadie Frowne was put to work when she was just a little over thirteen. …show more content…
The terrible factory conditions, as well as the inhuman working conditions the women had to endure were two of the main reasons why such a tragic incident happened. The strikes that workers performed were further proofs that nobody could tolerate working in such conditions. The fact that employees did not listen to their employee’s complaints lead to the atrocities of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. It is sad that such an event had to happen to make things change, but the deaths of the 146 workers killed in the fire was not in vain as it opened the doors for improvements in the factory workers’