The document discusses building and fire safety laws related to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. It provides details on the factory building, the fire that killed 146 workers, and highlighted the lax safety laws and noncompliance that contributed to the fire's devastating impact. It also summarizes key New York laws and building codes regarding fire escapes, non-wood surfaces, staircases, sprinklers, fire drills, and compartmentation that were in place but not followed adequately.

1. EGRESS AND FIRE
RESISTANT ASSEMBLIES

2. NYC Building Regulations

3. Old New York – Exterior Views
1900 – The garment industry
was the largest employer in
NYC with immigrant workers
laboring in:
• Overcrowded
• Unsanitary
• dangerous conditions
• 4/5 of them women.

4. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
Ten story building, 135 ft height, 9,157 sf
 July 13, 1900 - Plans for Harris
and Blanck’s Asch Building in
NYC are approved.
 January 15, 1901 -
Construction of the Asch
Building is completed.
 1906 - The Triangle Shirtwaist
Company opens. – top 3 floors
 Employs over 500 women aged
13-23 (Jewish or Italian).
 Paid by piece – 9-10 hour day
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/triangle/trianglefire.html

5. NYFD
COMPANY
 March 25, 1911 (4:40) Fire breaks out in 8th floor and claims 146 victims.
 March 25, 1911 (4:46) NYFD Company 72 arrives.
 March 25, 1911 (4:57) The last bodies fall to the sidewalk from the 9th
floor.
 March 25, 1911 (5:15) The fire is described as practically "all over.“

6. The Trial
 April 11, 1911 Owners are
indicted
 June 30, 1911 NY creates a
Factory Investigating Commission
“The golden era in remedial factory
legislation” is launched and during
the next 3 years, NY enacts 36 new
safety laws.

7. The Trial and the Protest
 December 4, 1911 - Jury selection begins in the manslaughter trial of Harris and Blanck.
 December 27, 1911 - The jury retires to deliberate. After 2 hours the jury returns a verdict
of not guilty.
 March 11, 1914 - 23 individual suits for damages against Triangle are settled for $75 per
life lost.
 March 21, 1912 - The D.A. moves for a 2nd trial, which is dismissed on Double Jeopardy
grounds.
 February 22, 2001 - Rose Freedman, the last survivor of the Triangle fire and a lifelong
crusader for worker safety, dies at age 107.

8. BUILDING AND SAFETY LAWS
FIRE ESCAPES
 New York Law: Building inspector
insisted the proposed fire escape
"must lead down to something
more substantial than a skylight.“
 Triangle Shirtwaist Company
Compliance: The architect's plans
showed a rear fire escape leading
to a skylight and was not corrected
as promised. During the fire, the
fire escape collapsed under the
weight of the fleeing workers.

9. BUILDING AND SAFETY LAWS
NON-WOOD SURFACES
 New York Law: Buildings
over 150 feet high must
have metal trim, metal
window frames, and stone
or concrete floors. Buildings
under 150 feet high had no
such requirements.
 Triangle Shirtwaist
Company Compliance: The
Asch Building was 10 floors,
135 feet high. One more
floor would have required
non-wood surfaces.

10. BUILDING AND
SAFETY LAWS
New York State Labor Laws
(Article 6, Section 80):
“All doors to open outwardly,
and shall not be locked,
bolted, or fastened during
working hours”
It was also shown that the ninth
floor staircase door did not
"open outwardly," but
inspectors failed to note a
violation because only the
width of a stair separated the
door from the stairs, making it
not "practicable" for the door
to open outwardly

11. BUILDING AND
SAFETY LAWS
Staircases
New York Law: Buildings > 2,500
square feet per floor--< 5,000
square feet per floor--require two
staircases. Each additional 5,000
square feet per floor requires an
additional staircase.
Triangle Shirtwaist Company
Compliance: The Triangle
Shirtwaist Company floors had
10,000 square feet of
space. Any additional floor space
would have required a third
staircase. As it was, two
staircases--the number the
Triangle factory had--sufficed.

12. Sprinklers
New York Law: In 1911, sprinklers not
required in NYC buildings.
Triangle Shirtwaist Company
Compliance: The Asch Building contained
no sprinkler system.
Fire Drills
New York Law: Fire drills were not
required to be conducted.
Triangle Shirtwaist Company
Compliance: The Triangle Shirtwaist
Company never conducted a fire drill.
BUILDING AND SAFETY LAWS

13.  Ultimate goal of a fire related code is to
 Contain a fire within a space
 Limit the spread of fire
 Give occupants time to escape
 Give the firefighters time to control the fire

14.  Codes provide for both fire and SMOKE protection
 Smoke travels fast
 Causes asphyxiation
 Obstructs vision
 Causes disorientation

15.  Requirements on materials used to construct the
building
 Building Construction type places restrictions on the
hourly rating of structural members
 Other areas of the code places restrictions on other
interior construction materials, wiring, plumbing, and
finishes – as they can feed a fire.

16. Code requires various systems for fire safety
 Passive systems – also known as prevention systems
 Prohibit and contain fires
 Once in place – no action required for their function
 Active systems
 Need to be activated in order to work against fires
 Exiting systems
 Building elements that assist in directing occupants to
safe

17.  Passive systems
 Fire and smoke barriers – walls
 Horizontal assemblies – floors and ceilings
 Opening protectives – windows and doors
 Through – penetrations – firestops, dampers
 Finishes and furniture

18.  Active systems
 Detection systems – alarms
 Extinguishing systems – sprinklers
 Emergency lighting

19.  Exiting systems
 Means of egress
 Exit communication

20.  Compartmentation – separation of areas in a building
to control fire and smoke by the use of wall, floor, and
ceiling assemblies
 Compartments are created by fire-resistance –rated
assemblies
 Codes also require the use of smoke barriers and smoke
partitions in some cases
 Fire rating controlled by building construction type and
occupancy classification of building and tenants
 Presence of an automatic sprinkler system can affect fire
rating requirements

21.  Fire walls are used to provide complete vertical
separation between areas in a building
 Must have a separate foundation and extend to the roof
 Separate two separate types of construction
 Allow larger building area
 Minimum 2 hour rating – typically 3 and 4 hour rating
usually dependent on occupancy
 If a fire wall needs to be penetrated, research needs to be
done so that the fire resistance rating is maintained