As students crowded Davis Library studying and printing papers Monday, a few were running for their lives, trying to escape an imaginary fire.
Not all of them made it.
The group of students in visiting lecturer Sal Mercogliano’s American history class used the eight-story library to re-enact the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
The March 25 fire in upper floors of the Asch Building in New York City claimed 146 lives. The factory’s exits were blocked and fire escapes broke under the weight of panicking workers.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory incident had a direct impact on fire safety codes — primarily in the form of sweeping workplace reforms in the years following the fire.
“I love bringing history to life for my students,” Mercogliano said. “What I try to do is get them out of being a UNC student in 2009 and into being a factory worker in 1911.”
Mercogliano’s students have been reading about the tragedy as a part of their class. Monday’s re-enactment was a taste of realism, Mercogliano said.
“What we’re going to do is crank up the time machine, the flux capacitor, and we’re not going to be in Chapel Hill anymore,” he said.
The group headed up to the library’s eighth floor. Mercogliano designated exits and set a three-minute time limit for escape.
Some stragglers trickled out after about five minutes, and Mercogliano pronounced them dead before proceeding.
“It was a good way to actually illustrate it to us,” said sophomore Kellye Thompson.
Mercogliano said he got the idea while sitting in Davis one day. He said the library eerily reminded him of the Asch Building.
Once Davis’ physical structure inspired him, Mercogliano said coming up with the role play was a simple combination of his long-standing interests in fire fighting and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory tragedy.
Capt. Rob Pruitt of the Chapel Hill Fire Department explained how firefighters would respond to a fire in Davis, pointing out similarities and differences between the Asch Building and the library.
Mercogliano said the fire department was excited about helping him.
“It was a good chance to show that there’s more to the fire department than just putting out fires,” Pruitt said.
The re-enactment ended with students role-playing factory workers by recounting a minute-by-minute account of the fire.
“Having a vested interest in a character makes the event more memorable, I think,” Mercogliano said.
This was his second year of re-enacting the fire. He said the library’s directors were wary at first but have embraced the project.
But there’s a limit to their support.
“For some reason, they wouldn’t let me set the building on fire,” he said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
