Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the Fight for Women's Workplace Equality
The tragic events that occurred in the Triangle shirtwaist fire of 1911 were not unusual for this time. Unfortunately, it was a sad reality that fires breaking out in the workshops of textile factories were common during this time period. This fire is recognized as one that sparked the movement of women to organize and challenge the consensus paradigms that kept them working in sweatshop conditions. During this period in history the consensus paradigm said that women where not equal to men. This was evident in the working condition that where provided for the over four hundred women working on the top three floors of the triangle building. The women working in these conditions were in fear of speaking up against these conditions. They could have their wages cut, risk worsening their conditions or worse loose their jobs all together. So instead, silence remained until this tragedy occurred.
There are so many ways for this fire to have started. Many scraps of fabric could pile up in the floor and could be easily sparked by a lit cigarette, an electrical spark or perhaps from the gas lighting in the building at the time. All of the doors were locked, preventing the workers from being able to exit. Perhaps the doors were locked to prevent theft, workers taking unscheduled breaks, or any number of reasons. The point is that these doors being locked allowed for the tragedy that occurred. All of these factors could have been regulated and prevented in this tragedy.
When the fire broke out the women were trapped and many jumped to their death. The fire department was useless in this event, as their ladders only reached up six stories. The building did not have enough staircases or elevator room to accommodate so many employees. The fire escape broke under the weight of all of these people trying to escape. This forced many of the women to jump to their death...
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