NEW YORK (WCSC) — A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City became one of America’s worst industrial disasters, killing 146 people in less than half an hour.
Flames raced through the top floors of a Manhattan garment factory packed with young immigrant women, many just teenagers.
Locked doors, a collapsing fire escape and an elevator that quickly failed all left workers with no way out. Some burned inside; others jumped from ninth-floor windows to escape the smoke and flames.
Public outrage was enormous, and the tragedy helped drive major changes in fire codes, building safety and labor laws that still protect workers today.
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