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Our Lady of the Angels (OLA) School Fire, December 1, 1958
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Personal Experiences with Our Lady of the Angels School Fire

If you have a personal experience, recollection or opinion about the December 1, 1958 Our Lady of the Angels school fire, whether you were present at the fire or not, you can relate it here. Any story or information is welcome as long as it relates to Our Lady of the Angels school fire.
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Posted by: Mary On: 5/12/2005 ID: 225
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
Thank you for your webpage. I am glad to finally know that the children were encouraged to save their lives. I attended Catholic grade school during the 60's where the students were told that they would go to hell for misbehaving unlike the children who minded the nuns and quietly prayed at their desks as they were consumed by the flames and taken into heaven.

This attitude of the value of tolerating suffering set me up to suffer silently in a physically abusive mariage for seven years. I am glad to learn that not all nuns have a twisted beleif in the value of suffering.

Thank you.


Posted by: Bill Walsh On: 5/12/2005 ID: 224
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Chicago. Visitation Parish
I was a 5th grade student at Visitation Grade School 54th and Peoria on Chicago's south side when this fire occured. A new annax was being built to our school and I can remember all to extras that were included along with a chute that let you slide out of the building from the second floor. We had Masses and special prayers for the injured and dead students. I am a retired police officer. I have always felt that this fire was set. I have read many accounts of this fire and have just finished reading: "TO SLEEP WITH THE ANGLES The story of a fire." Written by David Cowan and John Kuenster. In this book a onnamed boy student seems to have been the person who set it. God Bless all those kids and may he hold them in the palm of his hand


Posted by: Mary Harrison On: 5/9/2005 ID: 223
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Arlington, Massachusetts
I was in the 4th grade at St. Agnes School in Arlington, Mass. in 1958. I was 10 years old and I remember we were told to pray for the fire victims. St. Agnes School was a three story red brick building with transoms and highly waxed floors. It's a real shame back then they didn't know these buildings were fire traps.I have read the books on the story of the fire at Our Lady of the Angels and often think what a shame so many died because a few common sense fire safety laws weren't in effect. Something as simple as a fire door could of probably saved lives, or fire ladders that you throw out over the inside of windows could of prevented serious injuries. I'll never to this day understand why a Principal had to approve a fire alarm being pulled, so much time was wasted trying to located the Principal who wasn't in her office, she was substitute teaching a class. I read the book "To Sleep With the Angels", but when you see the kids pictures on the internet and the pictures of the burned out classrooms, it really hits home what a horrible event this was.


Posted by: Jamie Furlong On: 4/26/2005 ID: 222
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
After coming across this web site a few months ago I cannot get this horrific story out of my mind. My mom was eleven years old at the time of the fire. She had attended a parochial school in Aurora at the time & she vividly remembers hearing the news. I know it affected her because so many of the children that died were around her age. I was wondering if Angels Too Soon would be broadcast again?


Posted by: Patti On: 3/29/2005 ID: 221
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before
I know the webmaster frowns upon this (and I can understand why) but I feel compelled to respond to the post by Jo. She said that she was told children were instructed to stay at their desks and pray. Although that may have been the case when smoke was first noticed, there was no evidence that the children were told to stay at their desks beyond that. There were no classrooms with children still at their desks, hands folded. In fact, survivors have posted that the nuns told them to go to the windows, helping them up to the sills and in some cases pushing children to save them. I don't mean to cause any problems by this post, but I feel that by not doing so, others may think the worst of the nuns. It's not the poster's fault, this was the story she was told, a rumor that was spread and seems to keep coming back every now and then. And although it may seem strange, that story may have helped one person deal with her child's death. I do know of one case where a mother was actually comforted by the story, not fully realizing what horror her child went through, but believing her child died peacefully at that desk, and only being burned after dying. Perhaps knowing the truth will help Jo in some way.


Posted by: Bob On: 3/28/2005 ID: 220
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Philadelphia, PA
I was attending Catholic School and was in the 8th grade. I remember that we prayed for those who perished. Now, fast forward to December1967. I served in the Seabees in Vietnam and was near the DMZ building bunkers.It was Christmas and we were given packages from people in the States. The box I received was from the 3rd grade students from Our lady of Angeles school. I will never forget it and it has stayed with me all this time.
I've always wanted to thank those kids so here it is. THANKS!


Posted by: Jo On: 3/20/2005 ID: 219
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before San Diego. CA
I was in second grade at a local Catholic school and I remembered we all had to pray for the children who perished. I was struck by the iame of the children who were told to pray and not to escape. I remember my dad tellign me about the toxic gases. He also told me the fire was started by accident, a student smoking nad trying to hide his still lit cigarrette in a trashcan. It scared me very much. The image of those doomed children praying at their desks haunts me fresh as when I first conceived it. Blessings to all who hear or remember the story. The lessons learned should not be lost!


Posted by: Marnie Reeves On: 3/18/2005 ID: 218
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Detroit, MI
I was in the 5th grade at St. Jude elementary school on Detroit's east side when the OLA fire happened. I remember our teacher telling us about it, and then bringing in newspaper articles about the tragedy and having us remember the OLA students in our daily prayers. I think one of the newspapers she brought to class one day must have been from Chicago, because it was one with individual photos of all the kids who'd died in the fire, and seeing children my age who had died scared the living daylights out of me. I had nightmares about being trapped in burning buildings.

Many years later, I was on vacation with my mom and the fire alarm in the hotel started ringing in the middle of the night. I bolted up immediately, grabbed our purses, and guided my sleepwalking mom down the stairs and outside. There were only a handful of other pajama'd people standing outside, and most were grumbling about the inconvenience. A man from the hotel office came out and announced "false alarm" and urged everyone to return to their rooms. But I was scared, and decided to walk around the building outside to calm down. When I got to the back, I smelled smoke. I dashed to the office, had the guy call 911, and about five minutes later we heard a loud "kaboom." Luckily, the fire department arrived right after that, and put out a fire that had started (and luckily was contained) in the laundry room. Moral of the story: take EVERY fire alarm seriously!!


Posted by: John A Gorski On: 3/13/2005 ID: 217
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 8 3 ? ?
Try and remember a tragic event that has left a scar in your mind for all time is a very hard thing to do. But for the most part I remember just the alarm going off and filing out into the street by the convent and then looking around and seeing the building on fire between the rectory and school...then the teacher telling us to go home if we lived close by or go to the church...Since I lived at 935 north Avers, I ran home...running along Hamlin Ave. to Stachura's home next to the church, cutting through their yard and into the alley..at that point without a jacket or hat...I really didn't feel the cold when I seen what really was the problem. I stood transfixed as I seen the many ladders against the school...the smoke and flames that were coming out of the roof and windows...the screams the shouts the confusion that was in that alley...I was pushed by someone I knew to get to the candy store. I got pushed along the alley to Avers Ave and into the Store...Barabra grabbed me and kissed me and pushed me to the back room where Helen was already...Helen was Barabra's Daughter and I was sweet on her and the Golwacki's were good friends of the family...Helen and I watched out the window for a long time...we were transfixed by what we were watching...But when the bodies were begining to be brought out, Barabra came back and saw us watching and closed the curtains and told me to go home...she gave me a blanket and pushed me out the back door and said go home...Which I did...I got home and watched what I could from our porch windows until my dad and two sisters finally came home...I never answered the telephone..it kept ringing...my parents were divorced at the time and it turned out to be my mother calling and calling...when everyone was finally home...my dad told us to accept it for what it was...then he told me that Mark Stachura had died...he knew Mark and I were best friends. This bothered me and I wanted to go to his home and see for my self...I was told to forget it and go to bed.
I did but the thoughts and memories of this day live on. At times those thoughts are so vivid I can smell the smoke. I can hear the screams. My memories are clouded by time and distance. But whenever I do go back to the neighborhood it all comes back to me...what was there and what was done after the fire and what has happened to the neighborhood now. I miss the old neighborhood...my friends...the summer nights...the ball games on the corner of Iowa and Avers...the softball team...and even the Sunday morning 9am mass...ah, but to relive a summer in the city eh!


Posted by: Pat On: 3/5/2005 ID: 216
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Hammond, Indiana
Like so many of the rest of you, this is one memory that is totally unforgetable. I was home sick from school that day too, and was watching the fire coverage on TV. I was frightened then, and that has remained with me my entire life. I am one of those who always reads the excape routes on the back of the door in hotels.

We moved to Illinois in 1963, and then I attended a school built around 1890 with a fire escape that was never used and the wooden stair case and wooden floors. I was happy to graduate from 8th grade there--the last day of school, the 8th graders were "allowed" to slide down the fire escape slide tunnels. They were not used at any other time, such as during fire drills. I used to sit as close to them as possible, even tho it was cold in the winter, just in case. My high school was only 10 years old, all on one level and had plenty of doors. Still, as many of us baby boomers as were packed into the halls while changing classes, any emergency would have made it difficult to exit, especially if anyone panicked.

All of the memories were brought back again on 9/11. We watched the news program where people were jumping from the twin towers to escape the inferno of burning jet fuel.

God bless you all.