When Joseph Ash opened his new ash building in 1901, it was hailed as a modern marvel.

It was a massive, ten-story block of stone and iron, and it was said to be every bit

as solid as it looked.

And it was inside the building that the true breakthroughs could be found.

It had freight elevators, wide open floors, and fire exits.

In fact, Joseph Ash was so proud of his modern building that he called it fireproof.

And for a city in desperate need of more factory space for its massive garment making industry,

it was perfect.

So business partners Max Blanc and Isaac Harris signed a lease for the 8th floor.

And business was good.

Soon they expanded upward, taking over the top three stories of building.

Their shop, the Triangle shirt-waste company, became the premier manufacturer of the most

popular type of shirt in the country.

But they also became sloppy.

On March 25th of 1911, a fire broke out in a pile of scrap cloth.

The building might have been build as fireproof, but the conditions inside were dry, flammable,

and overcrowded.

Perfect.

We're a horrible tragedy.

Just that an hour later, it was over.

Some had burned to death.

Others had fallen 10 stories to escape the flames.

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