The 1911 Triangle Waist Company fire killed 146 people, 129 women and 17 men, primarily Jewish and Italian immigrants who spoke little English. Ranging in age from 14-43, most were only 16-23. They died of fire or smoke inhalation, 20 fell 100 feet to their death when a fire escape collapsed, others plunged down an empty elevator shaft after the car’s last descent, and 62, facing their inevitable end, jumped from the 8th, 9th, or 10th floor where the factory was located. Read about one survivor in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).
