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Firefighters To The Rescue (About 4:48 P.M.)
The firefighters charged into the building, stretching a hose up the stairways as they went. When they got to the 6th floor, they connected the hose to the standpipe. They did everything that they could, but nothing that they did could save ALL of the lives that were lost, especially the people at the windows. The firefighters tried to catch the people that jumped, but they had to stop because it was too dangerous to the firefighters because the people came down with an ENOURMUS amount of speed. -
Safety Precautions Begin To Be Disobeyed (About 4:45 P.M)
"Safety experts have always advised against using elevators in a fire. Heat can easily damage their machinery, leaving trapped passengers dangling in space, to burn or suffocate." The fire was getting out of control, so people decided to disobey the safety precautions and try to escape the building by using the elevator. Those who couldn't board the elevators, rushed to the stairway door. -
People Started To Jump (About 4:53 P.M.)
People were desperate to stay alive, the fire was getting more and more intense, and people were trying to make a decision on weather they should jump out of the window, or burn to death, so, some people rushed to the windows, but all they arrived to was more fire. People made the decision to jump, firefighters tried to catch the falling people in nets, but the people were coming down with to much speed that they were injuring the firefighters. -
How The Fire Started (4:40 P.M)
On March 25, the cutters on floor 8 (Which Were All Men) were preparing for their next day's work. Since it was Saturday, everyone would leave early, at 4:45 P.M. By 4:40, the cutters had finished their work. With 5 minutes to go, people stood around, talked, and even though it was against the rules, some lit cigarettes. Someone threw a lit cigarette butt into a bin of scraps and it immediately caught fire. -
After The Fire Started (About 4:45 P.M.)
Cutters flung buckets of water at the smoking spot, without effect. Flames shot up, igniting the line of hanging paper patterns. The burning paper patterns began to fall on tables and machines. They went floating around the room. Every time another piece fell scraps of fabric began to light on fire. -
As The Fire Got More Intense (4:45 P.M.)
A foreman ran for the hose on the stairway wall. When no water came out, the people realized that the hose was not connected to the Standpipe. Seconds later, the fire leaped out of control. Help was already on the way, at exactly 4:45, someone pulled the 8th floor fire alarm. In less than 2 minutes, the horse-drawn vehicles. -
Those On The 9th Floor Were Not So Lucky (About 5:46 P.M.)
People who reached the 9th floor stairway door found it locked! Employees often locked the doors to discourage latecomers and keep out union organizers. Nobody who reached that stair way door survived, nor any of the people at the windows. -
Other People Trying To Escape (About 4:49P.M.)
Others managed to reach the fire escape. This fire escape was not designed for a quick exit. FDNY experts later declared that those on the top 3 floors of the Asch building could not have made it to the ground in under 3 hours. In reality, they only had minutes. People that made it to the stairway walked single file as flames lapped in through the windows. The human load on the stairs became to heavy and the stairs collapsed at the 8th floor tumbling dozens into the courtyard. -
The 10th Floor (About 4:55-5:15 P.M.)
The 10th floor was the best place to be. Those who worked there, or reached it from the 9th floor by dashing up the stairway. People on the roof of the 10th floor were crying for help, finally a professor from the building next to them (NYU) saw them and took his class up to the roof to try and help. Painters left 2 ladders. One of the students grabbed the ladders and they put them across the 2 buildings, so that the people could go from the top of the Triangle Factory to the roof of NYU. -
The Fire Finally Ended (5:15-6:15 P.M.)
"By 5:15 P.M., exactly 35 minutes after the flames burst from beneath a cutting table, the firefighters had brought the blaze under control." An hour later the firefighter chief (Chief Croker) came to back to the building for an inspection. He found that the Asch building had no damage. The walls were still fully intact, the building kept its structure. The building had passed the test, it was fireproof! -
The Triangle Factory Today
The Triangle Factory today is known as the "Brown Building." It is now a National Historic Landmark, where people can go and see the inside of the building and they can see what it actually looks like inside.
