Myths Continue To Live On

There are persistent myths that doors were locked and that fire escapes were faulty, even though a judge exonerated the owner of the building and the proprietors of the Triangle Company, and an insurance company paid $64,925 for property damage.

The fire department was slow to arrive, and its ladders could not reach beyond the 6th floor to the fire that was raging on the 9th floor. The building was 12 floors high, and New York City had buildings 50 stories high at that time.

There was one door locked, though there were multiple exits that were used by many to escape. The exits included stairs, a fire escape and two elevators that were used heroically by the operators.

The fire started on the 8th floor, and everyone on that floor escaped. Most people on the 10th floor escaped. The 9th floor suffered the greatest loss of life where 100 of 250 people still escaped. There were about 500 people in the building, 350 escaped and about 150 died.

The fire did not burn downward and the building is still standing to this day in New York City.