Triangle Shirtwaist Tragedy Remembered

Firefighters from Ladder 20 extend their ladder to the eighth floor, as far as their apparatus could reach at that time, to remember the victims.

FDNY members joined union leaders and fellow New Yorkers at the corner of Washington Place and Greene Street in Manhattan on March 20 to remember the 102nd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire.

The victims of the fire, as well as the sweeping changes to workplace safety, fire safety and fire prevention that it brought about, were remembered in the solemn ceremony.

At about 4:45 p.m., quitting time, the fire was first detected in a waste bin on the eighth floor. A few men tried to extinguish it themselves, but the fire quickly spread across the paper patterns and bolts of fabric that filled the sweatshop.

More than 700 people were at work in the 10-story building at the time of the fire, 600 of whom were young, immigrant women between the ages of 16 and 23. The workers scrambled to find available exits, as the fire escapes collapsed and many other exits were locked or blocked.
While many victims were trapped by the smoke and fire, others jumped to their deaths, some holding hands with their friends and loved ones as they fell.
The freight elevator operator, Joseph Zito, was considered a hero that day, making seven or eight dangerously overloaded trips to rescue the victims.
Although firefighters were able to extinguish the fire just 18 minutes after arriving on the scene, 146 lives were lost.

Flowers were laid at the location as the names of the victims were read.

Many of the women were identified by their jewelry or notes they were carrying with their names on them. One, Ignazia Bellotta, was identified by her father, who recognized the heel of her shoe.

As a result of the blaze, and tremendous loss of life, laws were passed nationwide to make residences and workplaces safer.

The Fire Department began teaching fire safety and prevention, staging fire drills in factories across New York (Chief of Department Edward Croker had recommended this four months before the fire). Additionally, the fire spurred the efforts of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union to organize workers and pushed politicians to pass legislation improving sweatshop conditions in the garment industry.

During the anniversary ceremony, Ladder 20 symbolically raised its ladder to the 6th floor of the building, as far as the apparatus reached at that time, and a bell tolled to commemorate each of the 146 workers.

Attendees read aloud the names of those lost in the tragedy and laid carnations in their honor.

Members of the Fire Safety Education team also were at the ceremony, informing observers and passersby about how to keep their homes and workplaces fire safe.