A Century of Safety with ASSE

Today, millions of people return home from work safely due, in part, to the unflagging commitment of the occupational safety, health and environmental practitioners who work to identify hazards and implement safety advances in all industries and at all workplaces. And for the last 100 years, the Des Plaines, Ill.-based American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), the nation's oldest safety society, has been a part of that noble cause.

The seed that eventually would grow into the present-day ASSE was planted March 25, 1911, a tragic day in the nation's history. On that date, a catastrophic fire consumed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, which was housed in the Asch building in New York City. Many workers were trapped behind locked doors. The doors that were not locked opened inward and were held shut by the rush of employees desperately trying to escape the fire.

At the time, the only safety measures available for the workers were 27 buckets of water and a flimsy fire escape that ultimately collapsed. Factory workers waiting for help at the windows watched helplessly as firefighters discovered their ladders were too short to reach the stranded employees. The water from the hoses also could not reach the top floors.

In all, 146 garment workers died that day in the fire — many in the factory and many who jumped from the ninth floor to avoid burning alive. Many of the victims were women and young girls.

While the tragedy caused a public outrage, no regulations that could have saved these workers' lives existed at the time. The fire did lead to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and the Women's Trade Union League. Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member and Secretary of Labor, began her commitment to workplace safety and health soon after witnessing the tragic 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

THE BIRTH OF ASSE

Out of the ashes also rose what would eventually become the modern-day ASSE. In a response to this tragedy, the organization was founded Oct. 14, 1911, in New York City as the United Society of Casualty Inspectors (USCI) with 62 members. In 1914, the USCI name changed to the present American Society of Safety Engineers and its headquarters were established in New York City.

Over time, more states passed workers' compensation laws, insurance companies hired additional inspectors and information about ASSE spread by word of mouth. As the EHS profession grew over the decades, so too did the practitioners' commitment to increasing public awareness of occupational safety, health and environmental issues and their impact on quality of life.

This timeline highlights important milestones in ASSE's history and occupational safety in general:

1917: America's entrance into the war diminishes ASSE's membership as many workers entered the armed forces.

1918: The end of World War I, the post-war depression and a lack of safety jobs in insurance or war industries almost causes the dissolution of ASSE.

1919: ASSE publishes Safety Engineering, its first official publication, and begins to grow as a national organization.

1924: The Engineering Section of the National Safety Council (NSC) merges with ASSE and national headquarters relocate to Chicago. At that time, the first respirators replace handkerchiefs as protection for workers in chemical plants. The first ASSE chapters in Boston and metropolitan New York are created.

1936: The federal government passes the Walsh-Healey Act, which applies the first standards for safety and health to firms that had business with the government.

1937: ASSE becomes involved in industrial standards development.