Why we do what we do: Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Sometimes it feels like safety is a fussy business.  

Who cares if there's storage in front of the electrical panel? 

What does if matter if there's a box in front of the exit door?

Why do we have to check these exit lights every month?

When we have a dozen other priorities throughout the day and someone piles on a couple more things like this onto your to-do list, it can make you feel pretty resistant.

But there's a quote that gets thrown around every once in a while that really grabs your attention, no matter how you might feel about safety inspections or OSHA:

OSHA rules are written in blood.

With the Baltimore bridge collapse in the news, it's a good time to reflect on why we have these rules in place.

We've also just passed the anniversary of an infamous disaster, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which took place in New York City on March 25th, 1911. Because the exits were locked to prevent workers from taking too many breaks, 146 employees lost their lives to a fire that started in the factory.

Sometimes it takes loss like this to lead to change in regulations that save lives down the line.

Many of these rules that seem cumbersome or frustrating are in place because someone lost their life or were seriously injured before the rule was put in place.

If you want to learn more, here's an almost four minute video about how the NFPA's Life Safety Code can be directly traced back to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.

Just remember... rules that might seem annoying now can save lives later.