I know this really happened, but did the MYSTERIOUS man really exist?

Question

I saw it in the TV movie nearly 27 years ago, and have recently read there was indeed such a man, but I wonder what became of him and why nothing else has been written about it:

He was the man who for some reason was working or mysteriously appeared at the clothing factory that caught fire in New York in 1911. In the fire 146 people_I believe all women_died. He was supposed to be evil and would tell them to jump out the windows. He also jumped but was never found. Only his clothes was left behind on the ground.

I have just read internet article titled Teaching The Triangle Fire, and it describes the eyewitness account of United Press reporter, William G. Shepherd!!!

That's the account the 1979 film is based on. He did not dissappear into thin air, but he did jump and reporter even saw his face before they covered him!

The account starts on paragraph ELEVEN of that article.

Answer 1

First, the mysterious man never existed. What you refer to is the Triangle fire, March 25, 1911. What you describe is an "urban legend." This is a story that seems too good to be true. (It is.) The company was called the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. A shirtwaist was a woman's blouse, full at the bust, full in its long sleeves, and narrow at the waist. The women were working on upper floors of a "fireproof" building. That meant that the building was fireproof (it still stands today). It's just that the textiles, cardboard boxes, and tissue paper packing were not fire proof.

Answer 2

I saw the movie,as well. You do realize that it was a work of fiction based on a historic event, right?