The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Remembered - Springfield Public Library

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Remembered

The Springfield Free Public Library will remember the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the City of New York, as presented in a lecture by Abbott Gorin, Esq.  March 25th is the Centennial of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire which took the lives of 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, who either died from the fire or jumped from the fatal height.  Most of the workers could not escape the burning building because the managers locked the doors to the stairwells and exits to keep them from leaving early. People jumped from the 8th,9th and 10th floors as the ladders on the existing fire trucks could only reach the sixth floor.  The fire resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. This led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, which fought for better and safer working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry.  In addition, the safety standards concerning fire suppression and evacuation were strengthened. This lecture is sponsored by the Brooklyn College Alumni Association, Mid-NJ
chapter, and is free to the public. The Springfield Free Public Library is located at 66 Mountain Avenue, Springfield.  For additional information, call 973-376-4930.