The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is a well documented tragedy from the early 20th century. Conditions in the factory were known to be unsafe and despite a constant stream of complaints in regard to that fact, nothing substantial was done to improve the working conditions for the women working in the factory. As a result, 146 died when fire broke out on March 25, 1911.

This topic has been chronicled by very talented people over and over but one perspective I have found most impactful to me was a letter published two days after the fire by William Shepherd, a man who witnessed the incident from the ground. My goal with this episode is simple: help people to understand what it was like that day by sharing his words with you. I didn’t write them and I have no claim to them. Understanding tragedy is a part of history. I hope Shepherd's letter has the same impact on you it had on me.

Resources

https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/...