The Asch Building was the location of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. It occupied the top three floors; the eighth, ninth, and tenth. At this time in history; fire safety was not required for public places. Below are diagrams of each floor and a small paragraph detailing the issues with the building brought to you from Doug Stevens.
8th Floor Layout
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"Eighth floor, Asch Building: About two hundred employees were finishing work at cutting tables and sewing machines. At 4:40 P.M. the fire starts under a table near the Greene Street stairs (1). A draft from the open door spreads the fire towards the rear airshaft (2). Workers fled, using both sets of stairs, the fire escape, and the Washington Place elevators." -Doug Stevens
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9th Floor Layout
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"Ninth floor, Asch Building: About 250 employees worked at eight rows of sewing machines. At 4:45 P.M. fire in the airshaft entered the room (3). Flames engulfed examining tables in rear of factory and spread quickly. Other flames lapped up from eighth-floor windows. The over-crowded fire escape collapsed. At the Washington Place door (4), workers cried, "The door is locked!" Some escaped by elevators; others raced up the Greene Street stairs (5) to the roof. After those routes were cut off by the blaze about 4:51 P.M., more than 140 ninth-floor workers perish" -Doug Stevens
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10th Floor Layout
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"Tenth floor, Asch Building: Perhaps sixty workers were employed in the pressing, packing, shipping, and administrative operations. About 4:45 P.M. owners and workers saw flames through airshaft windows (6). Some escaped down Washington Place elevators, others by racing up the Greene Street stairs to the roof (7)." -Doug Stevens
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