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March 29, 2011

100-year anniversary of safety-changing factory fire in pictures



On March 25th, 1911 there was a devastating fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.

With tons of highly flammable cotton and tissue the blaze burned out of control and the firemen could not put it out, or even get to the fire higher up the building due to inadequate equipment. Much like the Twin Towers on 9/11, workers were trapped and in some cases jumped from the higher floors of the building. In all, 146 people died that day.



The tradgey occurred due to a number of health and safety shortcomings. They included only one fire escape, a single stairway in the building, only one usable elevator, and life nets that had been torn. Fireproof doors has also been locked.

While this event was tragic for all involved and their families, it did force workplaces to be looked at and new safety policies were put in place laying the groundwork for the health and safety regulations we all rely on today.



Source: Time

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