The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire fueled many public reactions. The immediate horror and sorrow quickly turned to long-term industry reform. Many unions formed to petition for more rights for factory workers, especially women. The demand for change led to laws improving workplace safety and workers' rights.
Girls were burning to death before our eyes. Down came bodies in a shower, burning, smoking, lighted bodies, with the disheveled hair of the girls trailing upward. They had fought each other to die by jumping instead of by fire.