Emergencies and World Disasters
Locked Door, Burning Stair: 146 Voices Trapped at Triangle
21 min•24 juli 2026
Om avsnittet
Locked Door, Burning Stair: 146 Voices Trapped at Triangle
Fear and outrage: 146 people were trapped behind a locked door while flames licked the stairwell below - why was the key kept from them as smoke forced hundreds toward a single exit? What exactly happened in those fatal minutes that turned a routine Saturday into a catastrophe?
In this episode, we tell who worked in the Triangle Waist Company, how the fire began and spread, and the sequence of decisions and practices that left the ninth floor without an exit - could the outcome have been different if one door had not been locked?
Person: Yetta Lubitz
Event: Fire at Triangle Waist Company
Date: March 25, 1911
Location: Asch Building, Greene Street and Washington Place
Number of victims: 146 dead
- The Triangle occupied the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of a ten-story building completed in 1901.
- On a typical workday about 500 people worked on those three floors, most aged 14 to 23.
- Workers earned between $7 and $12 per week for 52 hours of work.
- A scrap bin on the eighth floor had accumulated hundreds of pounds of fabric trimmings over approximately two months.
- The Washington Place stairway door on the ninth floor was locked and its key was held by a foreman who left with the key during the fire.
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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
Fear and outrage: 146 people were trapped behind a locked door while flames licked the stairwell below - why was the key kept from them as smoke forced hundreds toward a single exit? What exactly happened in those fatal minutes that turned a routine Saturday into a catastrophe?
In this episode, we tell who worked in the Triangle Waist Company, how the fire began and spread, and the sequence of decisions and practices that left the ninth floor without an exit - could the outcome have been different if one door had not been locked?
Person: Yetta Lubitz
Event: Fire at Triangle Waist Company
Date: March 25, 1911
Location: Asch Building, Greene Street and Washington Place
Number of victims: 146 dead
- The Triangle occupied the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of a ten-story building completed in 1901.
- On a typical workday about 500 people worked on those three floors, most aged 14 to 23.
- Workers earned between $7 and $12 per week for 52 hours of work.
- A scrap bin on the eighth floor had accumulated hundreds of pounds of fabric trimmings over approximately two months.
- The Washington Place stairway door on the ninth floor was locked and its key was held by a foreman who left with the key during the fire.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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