The Shirtwaist Triangle Factory
The Conditions |
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The Owners |
The owners of the factory, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, were extremely lackluster when it came to making and organizing their business, to say the least. Many of their buildings and factories before 1911, such as their Diamond Waist Company. The History Channel article for the fire says that the owners may have even caused some of these fires themselves. "It seems that Blanck and Harris deliberately torched their workplaces before business hours in order to collect on the large fire-insurance policies they purchased, a not uncommon practice in the early 20th century. While this was not the cause of the 1911 fire, it contributed to the tragedy, as Blanck and Harris refused to install sprinkler systems and take other safety measures in case they needed to burn down their shops again." (History Channel, "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, 1)
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