The American History Illustrated, published in July of 1981, featured an essay by Bonnie Mitelman. The essay expounds on the tragedy of a horrific fire at the Triangle Waist Company on March 25, 1911 and the impetus it had on a union activist, Rose Schneiderman. Ms. Mitelman emphasizes the altering change such a tragedy can have on an individual, a small community, a society, and nation.

The Triangle Waist Company was one of the largest shirtwaist manufacturers at the time of the fire. Located in the top three floors of the ten-story Asch Building in Greenwich Village, it usually employed 900 workers. On the day of the fire, only between 500 to 600 workers were there. When the fire was out, 146 were dead. Each death was avoidable.

Minutes of a Women's Trade Union League meeting held a day after the Triangle Waist Company fire refers to the public indifference to the deplorable working conditions and the pleas for safety reform. One irony of the fire was that a massive strike of garment workers had taken place during the winter of 1909-1910. The reason for the strike was grievous working conditions faced by garment wor

The city of New York held a funeral for the dead that remained unclaimed. The Women's Trade Union League had voted to participate in the public funeral procession and 12,000 members marched from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon.

A haunting scene took place at one of the windows and was reported by a newsman who was a witness. He told of watching a young man help a girl through the window. The young man held her away from the building and then let her drop. He repeated this with two other young women without any resistance from the girls. The reporter likened his actions to a gentleman helping a girl onto a streetcar. The last girl the reporter witnessed being added, put her arms around the young man and kissed him. He repeated the action of dropping the willing girl to her death. Then he, too, dropped to his. His actions saved them from a terrible death by fire. In a sad and peculiar way, the young man's actions were chivalrous.

Ms. Mitelman eloquently brings forth in her essay how the tragic fiery deaths of those unfortunate workers cemented the fellowship of the Eastern European community, encouraged cooperation among unions, brought about awareness and support from a blind populace, safety in the work place and support for union recognition.

The Triangle Waist Company fire was not the first waistmaker's fire. Three months before the Triangle Waist Company fire, 25 working women were killed during a destructive fire in Newark, New Jersey. Garment worker reform activist, Theresa Serber Malkiel, went before the Women's Trade Union League to encourage action to prevent another tragedy such as this. She blamed the greed and negligence of owners and public authorities for the fire. An investigation was begun in cooperation with other trade unions supportive of garment workers.

Amazingly, the Triangle Waist Company was not the only dangerous shirtwaist factory or even the most dangerous shirtwaist manufacturer workplace. Files kept by the Women's Trade Union League report complaints made by workers describing factories with "locked doors, no fire escapes, and barred windows." A report from the New York Times told of 14 factories without fire escapes. The article also reported that 99% of the factories investigated in New York had serious fire hazards.

When the fire department reached the Asch Building, the ladder truck was of no use, having a ladder that only reached to the seventh floor. Once the firemen had successfully connected their hoses, the entire eighth floor was aflame. The firemen enlisted spectators to assist in holding the safety nets so that the workers that were escaping to the ledge of the building could jump to safety. However, the jump was from too far up and victim after victim plunged to their deaths, ripping either the fabric of the nets or the grips of those holding the nets.

Amazingly, the Triangle Waist Company was not the only dangerous shirtwaist factory or even the most dangerous shirtwaist manufacturer workplace. Files kept by the Women's Trade Union League report complaints made by workers describing factories with "locked doors, no fire escapes, and barred windows." A report from the New York Times told of 14 factories without fire escapes. The article also reported that 99% of the factories investigated in New York had serious fire hazards.

The Triangle Waist Company had obvious fire violations, but up until the fire there was no one who could or would do anything to enforce them. The doors leading to the outside opened inwardly instead of out and remained locked during business hours. Law required three staircases, but there were only two for the workers at the Triangle Waist Company. Though the Asch Building was reported to be fireproof and showed very little signs of the devastating fire that took place, it had wooden window frames, floors, and trim that fueled the fire.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Waist Company, Asch Building, Union League, European Jewish, Eastern European, Red Cross, Ms Schneider, Ms Mitelman, York Times, Ms Schneiderman, waist company, triangle waist, triangle waist company, trade union, trade union league, union league, women's trade union, women's trade, company fire, asch building, fire escape, waist company fire, rose schneiderman, eastern european, fire 146 dead,
Approximate Word count = 4109
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)