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The story of the
Triangle factory fire
and the girls w
ho changed Am
erica By Kristin Lew
is
OUT OF
FLAMES
THE Flam
es clawed
at her b
ack. Sm
oke ch
oked
the air. W
aves of
fire curled
across th
e roo
m an
d
up
the w
alls.It w
as March
25, 1911. Katie
Wein
er, 17, was trap
ped
on
the
nin
th flo
or o
f a bu
rnin
g bu
ildin
g in
New
Yo
rk City.
Mo
men
ts earlier, fire had
bro
ken
ou
t at the facto
ry wh
ere Katie w
orked
. N
ow
the flam
es were sp
readin
g fast. W
ith th
e fire com
ing clo
ser, Katie h
ad
to m
ake a terrible ch
oice: stay an
d
die o
r dive in
to a sin
king elevato
r and
h
op
e to su
rvive.Sh
e do
ve.
Gary Hanna
Nonfiction
OUT OF
FLAMES
THE
NARRATIVE
NONFICTION
nonfiction that uses
literary techniques
6 SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • NOVEMBER 2018
Lew
is W
icke
s Hi
ne/L
ibra
ry o
f Con
gres
s/Co
rbis
/VCG
via
Get
ty Im
ages
(Lo
wer
Eas
t Si
de);
Shut
ters
tock
.com
(ba
ckgr
ound
)
hawking newspapers. She would
have seen laundry hung out to
dry. She would have smelled fresh
bread from bakeries.
Almost everyone on the
Lower East Side had come from
another country. In the early 20th
century, hundreds of thousands
of immigrants were coming to
the United States every year.
Katie’s own family had come to
New York City from Russia when
Katie was about 5. They had faced
violent religious persecution in
their home country—and so they
came to the U.S. with the dream
of a better life.
To many immigrants, America
seemed a place of hope where
jobs were abundant, where
anyone willing to work hard
could get ahead. But newcomers
quickly learned that things were
not as rosy as they had expected.
Life was tough, especially
on the Lower East Side.
Families lived in tiny tenement
apartments. Most worked long
hours in dangerous jobs for little
pay. Keeping food on the table
was hard.
Triangle Waist CompanyAbout a mile from the Lower
East Side stood the Triangle
Waist Company, one of New
York’s largest clothing factories.
It occupied the top three floors
of a skyscraper called the Asch
Building.
When Katie arrived there on
March 25, she would have taken
an elevator to the
ninth floor—one
large room packed
with 288 sewing
machines, plus a
small dressing room
and a bathroom.
As the elevator
carried Katie
skyward, she could
not have known
that she was about
to be caught in a
deadly fire that would
change her life—and
America—forever.
Death TrapAlong with about
500 other workers,
Early that morning, Katie
had walked through the streets
of the Lower East Side, the
neighborhood in New York
where she lived with her mom,
brother, and sister. It was
unseasonably warm, a relief after
the bitter days of winter.
Katie was headed to the
Triangle Waist Company. She
and her sister Rose, 23, worked
there making shirtwaists. These
fashionable women’s blouses
were all the rage at the time. Like
many teens in 1911, Katie had to
work to help support her family.
As always, the Lower East Side
buzzed with life. Katie would
have heard the clatter of horse-
drawn wagons, the thunder of
steel trains, the shouts of boys
Why was the Triangle fire so devastating?As You Read
New York City’s Lower East Side,
around 1915
Coming to AmericaFrom 1830 to 1940, some 40 million immigrants streamed into the U.S. Many settled in New York City. The Lower East Side, where Katie lived, became home to many immigrants. By 1900, the Lower East Side was one of the most densely populated places on Earth.
6 SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • NOVEMBER 2018
Kirn
Vin
tage
Sto
ck/C
orbi
s vi
a Ge
tty
Imag
es (g
arm
ent
fact
ory)
; Cou
rtes
y Fa
shio
n In
stit
ute
of N
ew Y
ork/
SUNY
(ad)
; Cou
rtes
y Co
rnel
l Khe
el C
ente
r (M
ax B
lanc
k &
Isaa
c Ha
rris
); Sh
utte
rsto
ck.c
om (
back
grou
nd)
Katie spent upward
of 10 hours a day,
six days a week,
making shirtwaists.
These button-down
women’s blouses
were very popular.
The owners of
Triangle, Max
Blanck and Isaac
Harris, had
become rich.
They were
nicknamed
the Shirtwaist
Kings.
But for
workers like
Katie, there
was nothing
royal about factory life. Katie
made only about eight dollars a
week—or $200 in today’s money.
And her bosses were always
looking for an excuse to pay her
less. If she pricked her finger and
blood dripped on the fabric, the
cost of the ruined material could
be deducted from her wages.
In factories at the time, bosses
regularly worked their employees
to the bone while paying them
as little as possible. Sometimes
these factories, or sweatshops as
they were called, seemed almost
like prisons. Doors were locked
to keep workers from taking
breaks. If you went to the toilet, a
supervisor would follow to make
sure you didn’t take too long.
Talking, laughing, and singing
were often forbidden. Bosses
were known to shout and insult
the piles of flammable fabric
on the factory floor. There had
already been several small fires
at Triangle. Luckily, these had
occurred at night, when few
people were in the building.
A fire during the day would
be catastrophic. Workers were
jammed elbow to elbow amid
heavy machinery, making a
quick escape nearly impossible.
And there were only two exits,
each just a narrow staircase. City
inspectors had reported these
fire hazards, but Blanck and
Harris did nothing.
Frantic WorkersAt about 4:45 p.m., Katie was in
the dressing room, getting
her coat and hat. Tomorrow
SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • NOVEMBER 2018 7
workers. If you didn’t work fast
enough, you could be fired on
the spot.
In spite of these hardships,
Katie probably felt lucky to have
a job. After all, even a small
amount of money was better
than no money at all.
Still, working at Triangle was
a struggle. And, as Katie would
soon learn, the factory itself was
a death trap.
Fire HazardsFires were a big problem
in garment factories. It took
only one tiny spark to ignite
A U.S. garment factory around 1910
The Shirtwaist KingsThe Triangle Waist Company produced shirtwaists, which were as popular as jeans are today. And at $1 a shirt, they were affordable enough that most women could buy one.
Max Blanck (left) and Isaac Harris
rushed to the window and put
her face out to breathe in fresh
air.
“Fire!” she shouted.
Behind her, panicked workers
surged toward the window,
gulping for air. Fearing that she
would be pushed out, Katie
fought her way back through the
crowd.
There had never been a fire
drill at Triangle, and no one knew
what to do. But Katie knew she
needed to get out.
The two exits were stairways
on opposite sides of the room.
One stairway led to Greene Street
and the other to Washington
Place. Katie decided to go for the
Washington Place exit.
But when she got to the door
and turned the knob, the door
wouldn’t budge.
It was locked.
Precious seconds ticked by.
Trapped in the BlazeThose inside Triangle had only
seconds to make life-or-death
decisions. Some workers climbed
out onto the fire escape. But it
was in disrepair. It collapsed
under their weight, sending them
to their deaths on the ground.
Others, including Blanck and
Harris up on the 10th floor, ran
up to the roof. They were lucky:
A New York University professor
in the neighboring building saw
the fire. He and his students
turned a ladder into a bridge
that allowed the trapped workers
to get from one rooftop to the
other.
Many trapped in the blaze
chose to jump from the windows
rather than die in the fire. It was
a 95-foot fall to the sidewalk.
None survived.
Down on the street,
firefighters pummeled the
8 SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • NOVEMBER 2018
Women Fight BackIn 1909, female garment
workers united to protest their awful working conditions. Some 20,000 women went on strike in New York City, meaning they refused to work until their demands were met. They marched, held rallies, and delivered speeches.
Not all their demands were met, but at Triangle, Blanck and Harris agreed to raise wages, shorten the workweek, and not fire workers for joining the union. (A union is an organization of workers formed to help them get better pay and improved working conditions.)
would be her only day off all
week, and no doubt she was
eager to leave the factory and get
home.
But at that moment, one floor
below, a bin of fabric scraps had
burst into flames, likely the result
of a cigarette carelessly tossed
aside.
The flames spread to the
tables. Frantic workers threw
buckets of water, but that didn’t
quench the blaze.
The fire kept growing. Within
minutes, it reached the ninth
floor.
That’s when Katie heard the
screams.
Precious SecondsDucking out of the dressing
room, Katie saw thick black
smoke. She looked for her sister
Rose but couldn’t find her.
Choking on smoke, Katie
Ever
ett
Colle
ctio
n In
c/Al
amy
Stoc
k Ph
oto
(uni
on m
embe
rs);
Shut
ters
tock
.com
(ba
ckgr
ound
)
SCOPE.SCHOLASTIC.COM • NOVEMBER 2018 9
Saya
n Pu
angk
ham
/Shu
tter
stoc
k.co
m (
back
grou
nd);
The
Gran
ger
Colle
ctio
n, N
ew Y
ork/
The
Gran
ger
Colle
ctio
n (a
ll ot
her
imag
es)
building with water. Some
lifted their ladders to give
workers a way down. But
the ladders proved to be
useless—they reached
only to the sixth floor.
As for Katie?
Turning away from the locked
door, she saw the elevator. This,
she knew, was her chance.
During a fire, heat can
damage elevator equipment
and passengers can get trapped.
Elevator operator Joseph Zito,
27, knew the risks. (Back then,
elevators were not automatic;
they had to be operated
by a person.) But Zito was
determined to save as many
workers as he could.
He took the elevator up and
down, again and again. With
each trip, he did not know if the
flames would spread into the
car or if the elevator would get
stuck, baking everyone inside—
including him.
This time, when Zito opened
the doors, Katie joined the
workers pushing their way
inside. But there were too many
people. Katie couldn’t get in.
The elevator began its descent.
Katie knew it would not come
back. The fire was now too
strong.
If she stayed where she was,
she was doomed.
And so she dove.
Reaching out, Katie grasped
the thick wire cable that ran
up through the elevator car.
She landed on the heads of the
workers inside. Her face smashed
into the tangle of bodies. Her
feet stuck out the door, painfully
smacking on each floor as the
elevator went down.
The TrialThe fire engulfed three floors
in 18 minutes. It claimed the lives
of 146 people. Most of them were
teen girls and young women, and
nearly all were immigrants.
Diving into that elevator saved
Katie’s life. Tragically, Rose did
not survive.
News of the fire spread across
New York. People were outraged
by what was clearly a preventable
tragedy. How many would still
be alive if the door hadn’t been
locked? If the factory had basic
fire safety features? If the owners
had bothered to have a fire drill?
A crowd gathered at the
Metropolitan Opera House to
demand better fire safety laws—
and justice for Triangle victims.
On April 5, some 120,000 people
joined a funeral march through
the streets to remember those
who had perished.
A few weeks after the fire,
Blanck and Harris were charged
with manslaughter. During
the trial, their lawyer did his
best to discredit the survivors.
He insisted they speak English
instead of speaking their
native language and using
The DestructionThough the building itself was
fireproof, everything inside the Triangle factory was destroyed.
Inside the Triangle factory
after the fire
10 SCHOLASTIC SCOPE • NOVEMBER 2018
An exhibit about the Triangle fire is opening in your town, and you’ve been asked to give a speech. Your speech should summarize what happened and explain why it’s important to remember this tragedy. Send your speech to Triangle Contest. Five winners will get Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
Get this activity online.�
Writing Contest
a translator. He wanted to make
it hard for them to tell their
stories.
But Katie would not be
intimidated. In court, she
delivered scathing testimony
about the locked door on the
ninth floor.
In the end, the jury did not
convict Blanck and Harris. It was
proved that the Washington Place
door on the ninth floor had been
locked, but no one could prove
that the two men had personally
locked it on the day of the fire.
Someone else, the jury decided,
could have locked the door
without the owners’ knowledge.
The Legacy Today, the building that
once housed the Triangle
factory is owned by New York
University. Only a small plaque
commemorates the tragedy.
Each day, New Yorkers pass by,
perhaps unaware that they are
walking along the very sidewalks
where so many young lives were
cut short.
Yet the legacy of Triangle can
be found everywhere.
The Triangle fire
forced Americans to ask
tough questions. What
rights should workers
have? How much should
our government do to
protect the vulnerable?
Where is the line
between ambition and
greed?
Because of that
fire, laws were passed
requiring factories and
offices to be safe. Many
of the fire safety codes
we have in the U.S.
today can be traced to
the aftermath of the
Triangle fire. So too
can many of the legal
protections workers
have in the U.S.
For the survivors of Triangle,
life was forever changed. But
many went on to live full lives.
Katie married and had a son.
She and her husband, who
became president of a union,
lived in a house in Brooklyn,
New York. And she lived to see
how the awful events of March
25, 1911, helped galvanize
Americans. Many were inspired
to join the crusade for workers’
rights, which would fight in the
coming decades for all workers
to be treated with dignity and
fairness. •
Who Makes Our Clothes?Today, labor laws in the U.S. protect workers from the kinds of
abuses that the women of the Triangle factory endured. But most of our clothes are no longer made in the U.S. Most are made overseas.
In some countries, clothing factories are not so different from the sweatshops of the early 1900s. In recent years, some clothing
companies have taken steps to end the abuses that take place in the overseas factories they use to make their clothes.
The Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013 in Bangladesh claimed the lives of more than 1,000 workers. The building, which housed five garment factories, was known to be unsafe.
Shut
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.com
(bac
kgro
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And
rew
Bir
aj/R
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ana
Plaz
a); J
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Boe
thlin
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Stoc
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(gar
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orke
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