Blanck

Harris and Blanck had collected hefty insurance payments for fires at Triangle and another of their factories, the Diamond Waist Company, five times in the decade leading up to 1911.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

In mid-April, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were arrested and charged with manslaughter.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

Did Mr. Blanck and Mr. Harris pay him more or less than they paid their sewing machine operators?

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

From two fires in 1902 alone, Harris and Blanck collected more than $32,000, equivalent today to about $726,000.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

They made it halfway across the room before Mr. Blanck stopped again.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

This is how I finally escape the fire, by becoming friends with Harriet Blanck, who is trying to escape too.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

If Harris and Blanck had installed sprinklers or any other fire-safety apparatus, that might have stopped their useful fires, as well as the potentially fatal ones.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

Yetta had never thought before about Mr. Blanck having a wife or daughters.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

The butler led her to a gaudy, overstuffed parlor and went to alert Mrs. Blanck.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

But men were more important; the contractors were practically on the same level as Mr. Harris and Mr. Blanck.

Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011