Collection 6: "The Story of the Triangle Factory Fire" by Zachary Kent

In the days following the fire, city officials sifted through the charred rubble at the Asch Building and tried to fix the fault for the tragedy.

In the days following the fire, city officials sifted through the charred rubble at the Asch Building and tried to fix the fault for the tragedy.

In the days following the fire, city officials sifted through the charred rubble at the Asch Building and tried to fix the fault for the tragedy.

Accused of ignoring their employees’ safety, Triangle owners Blanck and Harris were charged with manslaughter.

Outside, in the corridors, women screamed, “Murderers! Murderers! Make them suffer for killing our children!”

Through the next four years Commission investigators crawled and pried through the rooms and cellars of factories and tenement houses all across the state.

Through the next four years Commission investigators crawled and pried through the rooms and cellars of factories and tenement houses all across the state.

As a result of the Commission’s shocking findings, New York State quickly passed thirty-three new labor laws by 1914. These laws formed the foundation of New York State’s Industrial Code, the finest in the nation. Soon other states followed New York’s example and enacted protective labor laws.

One Factory Commission investigator had witnessed the fateful Triangle fire.

“They did not die in vain and we will never forget them,” vowed Perkins. From the ashes of the tragic Triangle factory fire came help for millions of United States laborers today.