The Fire
A newspaper article from the day of the fire, Courtesy of National Museum of American History
The Triangle Shirtwaist factory was set on fire, killing many factory workers. After the fire happened, the Fire Marshall, William Beers, determined that it was likely caused by a smoldering cigarette butt or match that had fallen into a bin full of fabric scraps and tissue paper.
A street in front of the Asch Buildiing, Courtesy of Time Magazine
"A policeman stands in the street, observing charred rubble and corpses of workers following the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in New York City, March 25, 1911."
The employees were affected because they were in the building at the time, and many were killed by the fire, or by jumping off the side of the building to escape and then falling to their deaths.
Max Blanck and Isaac Harris
Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, Courtesy of PBS
Isaac Harris and Max Blanck were the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and were known as the "Shirtwaist Kings". They were charged with manslaughter as they were the main cause for a majority of factory workers being killed.
Not only the factory owners were at fault for these deaths, but the firemen.
"Firefighters were quick to arrive on the scene, but the blaze was already out of control. They frantically raised a ladder toward the people trapped on the eighth floor, but it extended no further than the sixth floor."- John E. Moser