DC Jonas's Division 7 Newsletter May - June 2019

VERY interesting issue, thanks for sharing. I didn?t know they referred to Ladder companies as only ?Truck? companies back then, a picture from the essay was titled ?20 Truck? (from 1908). I mentioned this fire as I teach U.S. history - it was actually in the curriculum briefly. Main Point to students was to show the massive change this fire led to in the workplace. Teaching older students, I did show black and white primary source pictures like shown in the essay. Figured with a topic as important as this, might as well show them all I could find. Students were genuinely interested in learning about this fire - which was cool to see.
 
Stand across the street from the building on the NW corner of Washington Pl and Greene St and look at this building, you can sense the tragedy, the building oozes with fateful history, you almost feel like you could have been there. It feels like when you visit Gettysburg battlefields, there is a presence.


 
While attending Pace University I took an American Labor History class and used this fire a my essay on the final exam. The teacher agreed that it was a milestone event.
 
I've read many accounts of the 'Triangle Shirtwaist Factory' Fire. This piece by Chief
Jonas, is of course, one of the best. It is certainly the most detailed and insightful description
of FDNY Operations at that dreadful tragedy.
"They stretched hose lines to the interior of the building off the standpipe and
extinguished heavy fire on three floors without the benefit of breathing apparatus, or fire-resistant protective gear. Despite the tremendous volume of fire on three floors and the extreme
life hazard, this fire was at ?probably will hold? in 18 minutes and ?under control? in less than 30 minutes. "
Outstanding !
 
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