Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist company, were responsible for the deaths in their factory during the Triangle Factory fire (1911) because they neglected workers and didn't have all the fire precautions they should have had. If the two had paid more attention, been aware of the risks and planned what to do in case of fire, fewer people would have died. They were both morally and legally responsible; they broke codes and, in doing so, neglected their workers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The building that Blanck and Harris operated in, called the Asch building, had some flaws that Blanck and Harris should try to fix. The building inspector insisted that the fire escape led to something more substantial than a skylight, but in the final building the escape still led to a second-story skylight. The most important code that Blanck and Harris deciphered was that of factory doors; New York law states that all doors leading into or out of factories must open outward and cannot be closed or locked during business hours. On the ninth floor, the Washington Place Door – as it was called – did not open outward. Furthermore, during the fire, the door remained locked, blocking a potential escape route for many workers and resulting in the deaths of some of them. It was impossible that the owners did not know about the locked door, since in subsequent court proceedings they claimed that this was done to keep union workers out or to prevent theft, even though the total amount of the theft was less than $25. . . If the owners had tried to make the building not meet all these codes, many deaths could have been avoided during the fire. Furthermore, the company had not carried out any fire drills, which meant that workers would panic and not know what to do in the event of a fire. This also led to many deaths at the factory. Bits of flammable cloth could pile up unnoticed on tables, and not much money was spent on fire precautions despite five previous fires that should have been sufficient warning. If the owners had taken more fire precautions, fewer lives would surely have been lost. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay If Blanck and Harris had actually paid attention to what was going on around them, if they had taken care of their workers, if they had followed New York law, many lives would have been saved. However, they didn't; the workers were neglected, as were the laws; and thus Blanck and Harris were responsible, both morally and legally, for the deaths in the fire.