TSFFM, incorporated on December 2nd, 2002, was established to memorialize the events of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on March 25th, 1911 and its impact in changing existing New York State labor laws. TSFFM seeks to educate the general public regarding workplace safety, and to establish a scholarship fund for children of injured workers.

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This tragedy is noted as the worst factory fire in the history of New York City. It occurred on March 25th, 1911 in the Asch building located at the northwest corner of Washington and Greene streets, where the Triangle Shirtwaist Company occupied the top three of ten floors. The company employed five hundred, mostly Italian and Jewish immigrants between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three. In an effort to keep the workers at their sewing machines and to keep out union organizers, the proprietors had locked the doors leading to the exits.

The fire began shortly after 4:30 p.m. in the cutting room on the eighth floor, and fed by thousands of pounds of fabric, it spread rapidly. Panicked workers rushed to the stairs, the freight elevator, and the fire escape in an effort to evacuate. Most on the eighth and tenth floors escaped, however, dozens trapped on the ninth floor died, unable to force open the locked door that would have led to their escape. The rear fire escape had collapsed killing many and eliminating an escape route for others still trapped. Some tried to slide down elevator cables but lost their grip while others jumped to their death from open windows. Pump Engine Company 20 and Ladder Company 20 arrived quickly but were hindered by the bodies of victims who had jumped. The ladders of Company 20 extended only to the sixth floor, and life nets broke when workers jumped in groups of three and four. Additional companies were summoned by four more alarms transmitted in rapid succession.

A total of 146 workers died in less than fifteen minutes. Although there was widespread revulsion and rage over the working conditions that had contributed to the fire, many defended the right of shop owners to resist government safety regulation, and some in government insisted that they were at any rate powerless to impose it. The owners of the company were charged with manslaughter and later acquitted. In 1914, the owners were ordered to pay damages in the amount of $75 to each of the families of twenty-three victims who had sued. The Factory Investigating Commission of 1911 gathered testimony, and later that year the city established the Bureau of Fire Investigation under the direction of Robert F. Wagner, which gave the fire department additional powers to improve factory safety. The event crystallized support for efforts to organize workers in the garment district and in particular for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. It remains one of the most vivid symbols for the American labor movement and a constant reminder that government must ensure a safe workplace.

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Click photo to enlarge (photo will open on a new page).

    

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An informative video about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory can be found here.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: call TSFFM at (718) 830-3200.
All contributions to the Scholarship Program are tax-deductible.
TSFFM is accepting reservations for tickets to the dinner and placements in a Memorial Journal.

And their work continueth,
Broad and deep continueth,
Greater than their knowing.