SATURDAY MARCH 25, 1911
|
8:00 AM- At 8:00, employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory began to go into work. Because it was a Saturday, the workers were ready for a short day, from 9 to 4:45.
4:30 PM- As it drew closer to closing time, employees Mary Leventhal and Anna Gullo began to give out paychecks to all the workers 4:40 PM- Around 4:40, one of the cutters, Isidore Abramowitz noticed a fire in his scrap bin on the eighth floor. The fire marshal concluded after the fire that someone threw a match or cigarette butt into Abramowitz's scrap bin. Workers began to attempt to put out the fire, but this effort became difficult when the elevator shaft opened and brought with it a breeze which carried the fire. 4:44 PM- William Gunn Shepherd noticed a puff of fire from Washington Square on the street, then John Mooney pulled a fire alarm from Box 289 on the street. 4:45 PM- At this time, not all employees were aware of the fire. Anna Gullo rung the closing bell at 4:45 and the machines were turned off. It wasn't until the workers began to exit that they became aware of the fire. There were around 180 people on the eighth floor, but with the frenzy around closing time, many of them hadn't seen the fire. These workers began to rush to the exits. Workers were lined up at the Greene Street exit, which only allowed one person at a time to exit. The exit became congested, as did the exit at Washington Place. The tenth floor was notified, and they began to exit to the roof. Between 4:45 and 4:46- The fire department was notified of the fire and the factory alarm was pulled. At this point, the fire consumed most of the eighth floor and was beginning to spread to the ninth floor. The fire department and Engine Co. 72 came around 90 seconds after the alarm was pulled at Box 289. 4:47 PM- Chief Edward Worth reached the fire and issued the second alarm from Box 289. From the NYU building next to the Triangle building, a law professor, Frank Sommer, noticed the trapped workers and students began to collect ladders to lower down to save the workers. Around 4:50 PM- By this time, the last exits were beginning to be closed off and workers had to try to find another way to escape. The choice some made were to jump. Workers began to jump from the ninth floor, hoping that their fate would be better by jumping than being trapped inside the burning building. From the ground, police and fire fighters brought out nets to try to save the people who jumped. But, the nets couldn't hold multiple people jumping at once, and they began to rip. At 4:53 the use of the nets was abandoned and around 80 to 90 workers were still left trapped in the burning building. 4:57 PM: "The last body fell at about 4:57 PM. Her dress snagged on a steel hook at the sixth floor, probably part of the sign hanging just under the Triangle Waist Company's logo...For a moment, she hung there grotesquely until her clothing burned and tore away and she dropped to the sidewalk." (Von Drehle 159) 5:15 PM- At 5:15 the fire was under control on all three floors, around 35 minutes after the fire began. 146 people had died in the disaster. |
Wednesday April 12, 1911
April 12- Owners of the Triangle Waist Company, Max Blanck and Issac Harris were charged with manslaughter
Monday December 4, 1911December 4-The trial against Blanck and Harris began. The Prosecutor was Max Steuer and the Defendant was Charles Bostwick. Blanck and Harris were charge with six counts of manslaughter from two victims of the fire: Margaret Schwartz and Rosie Grosso.
Wednesday December 6, 1911December 6-Jury selection for the trial was completed.
Wednesday December 27, 19112:50 PM- After about 3 weeks of trial, the jury began deliberating on December 27.
4:46 PM- 9 months after the Triangle fire, Blanck and Harris were found not guilty of manslaughter |