On this date, a fire broke out on the 8th floor of the Asch Building in Manhattan. Among other businesses, the Asch Building was home to Triangle Shirtwaist Inc., which made women's clothing. This particular business had five hundred employees consisting mainly of women, most of them immigrants from Europe.( Malone & Ramey p. 162) That afternoon when the fire started the workers frantically began to evacuate, but the elevator could only hold ten people and the exit doors were locked. It was believed that the owner of the factory kept the doors locked to deter the workers from leaving their sewing machines. Women also tried to use the fire escapes but they could not hold the weight of all the workers thus folding under the pressure. Trapped in the fiery factory the women soon felt their only escape was jumping out of the 8th and 9th story windows. The New York City Fire Department arrived minutes later to be greeted by a sidewalk filled with the bodies of the helpless victims. The firemen attempted to distinguish the flames but realized their hoses were too short and could only reach the 7th floor. The blaze lasted twenty-five minutes and took the lives of one hundred and forty-six workers. The story of the fire spread and the public responded with outrage and fiercely demanded answers. Not only were they upset about the lack of evacuation by employees and the exit doors being locked, but that the city could not protect the hundreds of buildings that towered over seven floors. The government needed to respond, and they did, their investigations led to laws designed to protect workers and prevent future disasters. The publics culminating response to increased safe working conditions and fair wages then led to the first legislation to protect workers, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. .
The Fair Labor Act of 1938 was one of the most poignant parts of President Theodore Roosevelt's New Deal.