Forgot A Couple of Things...

... in my last post.

Of course, there were a number of lawsuits files after the Triangle fire. Due to the way the Triangle Company was structured, and the legal maneuverings after the fire, the lawsuits were settled... for about $75 per death.

The lessons learned from the Triangle Fire were soon forgotten... or at least ignored. Since 1911, the same problems -- insufficient fire exits, overcrowding, lack of fire safety equipment or training -- have occurred time after time: Cocoanut Grove, the Winecoff Hotel, the LaSalle Hotel, Our Lady of the Angels School, Beverly Hills Supper Club, the Station Nightclub, even the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. One of the cruelest reminders was a fire at a chicken processing plant in Hamlet, NC, in 1991: 25 employees died... because the exits were locked to prevent pilferage and unauthorized breaks. Another cruel reminder: on the 79th anniversary of the fire (1990), arson struck the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx, NY, killing 87. Internationally, the record is even worse, including a fire in a Bangkok, Thailand, toy factory in 1993 that killed 188.

The Triangle Fire is the 14th worst single-building fire in United States history... and that includes the 9-11 terrorist attacks.