Triangle: The Fire That Changed America

In Chapter 5, Von Drehle describes the horrifying few minutes near closing time at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company on March 25, 1911. He explains that “management of the Triangle was a family affair,” as factory manager Samuel Bernstein was the brother of owner Max Blanck’s wife, and various other relatives worked in managerial positions as well (116). On the eighth floor, Bernstein was made aware of the fire and initially thought that he could battle it by hand, as he had done with previous small fires. This fire, however, was different. One of the unique innovations of the Triangle was the large wooden bins underneath each of the long cutting tables, designed so that cutters could sweep their scraps directly into them. Tissue paper patterns—edged in steel—dangled from wires above the tables (118). By the end of the day, the bins had several hundred pounds of scraps in them. Von Drehle points out that “the steel trim was the only thing in the vicinity that was not highly flammable” (118). Cotton, he argues, “is even more flammable than paper,” and the fabric, paper, and wood all heaped together and full of oxygen, “amounted to a virtual firebomb” (118-19).

Situated at the corner of Washington Place and Greene Street, the Asch Building’s entrance was not in the typical spot, where the two streets meet.