THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE One hundred years ago on March 25, fire spread through the cramped Triangle Waist Company garment factory on the 8th, 9th and 10th floors of the Asch Building in lower Manhattan. Workers in the factory, many of whom were young women recently arrived from Europe, had little time or opportunity to escape. The rapidly spreading fire killed 146 workers. The building had only one fire escape, which collapsed during the rescue effort. Long tables and bulky machines trapped many of the victims. Panicked workers were crushed as they struggled with doors that were locked by managers to prevent theft, or doors that opened the wrong way. Only a few buckets of water were on hand to douse the flames. Outside, firefighters' ladders were too short to reach the top floors and ineffective safety nets ripped like paper. The factory floor after the fire. Long work tables and back-to-back chairs became deadly obstacles to workers trying to escape when fire broke out. Photo source: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Archives, Kheel Center, Cornell University The Asch Building's single fire escape collapsed under the weight of fleeing workers and the heat of the fire. Photo source: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Archives, Kheel Center, Cornell University See: https://www.osha.gov/oas/trianglefactoryfire-account.html