Speaking Volumes

Keeping you up-to-date on what's happening at your library. We invite you to join in the conversation!

MARCH 25, 2009

Be Prepared!

Today Library staff received training on fire extinguishers. We’d like to thank Bud Meyers, our excellent instructor, for this training. I believe it is safe to say we all learned something and appreciated the opportunity. Likewise, we all hope that we never need to implement what we learned.

It seems appropriate that today should have been our fire extinguisher training day, as today marks the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City. Ninety-eight years ago today, on March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. burned down, killing 145 workers. This tragedy led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of factory workers.

While this disaster could have been worse (there were over 600 workers in the factory when the fire broke out), it is widely accepted that the accident could have been less tragic if factory owner Harris and Blanck had taken appropriate safety steps. Blanck and Harris were brought to trial on manslaughter charges but were never convicted.

Fire is a dangerous element. Be it at home or at work, we remind everyone that it is always best to be prepared. As we go into spring, remember to change the batteries in your smoke alarms, have an escape plan and consider a small home fire extinguisher

If you’d like more information on the Triangle Shirtwaist Co., come check these out:

Triangle: The fire that changed America by David Von Drehle

A non-fiction account of the event.

Triangle by Katherine Weber

A fictionalized account of the event.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire by Jessica Gunderson

Add a comment (0 comments) posted by Su

-------------------------------------------------------