Girls and women ran for the doors and toward the elevator. The elevator operator saved as many as he could, but had to stop operating the elevator because the fire had spread too far to continue operating it safely. Sisters, mothers and daughters were separated. For some, the last thing they saw of a family member was either them going down in the elevator or stuck in the building. The workers were truly desperate. Some threw themselves into the elevator shaft after the elevator stopped coming. Others rushed to the fire escape, but it collapsed under all the weight. Firefighters were unable to catch any of the girls who jumped out of the window because the nets broke, the trunk ladder only reached the sixth floor, and the water from the fire hose only reached the seventh floor. Firefighters sprayed the building as high as possible in hopes that the fog would cool the fire and begin to put it out. The women soon realized that their escape was hopeless. Knowing they would burn to death, some turned toward the window and jumped. None of the girls who jumped survived the fall. Twenty minutes after the fire started, bodies were lying in the street and people were surrounding the building. The total number of victims of the fire was 146. Nineteen bodies were found in the elevator shaft and fifty-four workers died jumping out of windows. 12 The two founders, Harris and Blanck, made it out of the burning building alive, but some of their family members worked on the upper floors of the factory and were killed by the fire. the windows of the ninth floor. William Shephard, a United Press reporter, said: "Thud -- ...... middle of paper ......, "The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911." Accessed 27 March 2014.dol.gov/shirtwaist.23 “After the Triangle Fire: State and National Security Workplace Reforms.” Last edited March 25, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2014. Politicalcorrection.org.24 “After the Triangle Fire: State and National Security Reforms in the Workplace.” Last edited March 25, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2014. Politicalcorrection.org.25 United States Department of Labor. “The Commission of Inquiry into the New York Factories.” . http://www.dol.gov/ Accessed May 16, 2014. http://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/mono-regsafepart07.htm26 United States Department of Labor, “OSHA's Mission.” Last modified March 25, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2014.www.osha.gov/about.html.27 National Security Council. “About the National Security Council.” Last edited in 2014. http://www.nsc.org/about_us/Pages/Home.aspx (accessed May 16, 2014).