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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: Barb On: 11/30/2008 ID: 411
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Berwyn
I remember December 1, 1958 as though it was yesterday. I was ten years old living in Berwyn IL. I came home from school that day and my Mom was crying. She hugged me tighter than she ever had before and I kept asking "What's wrong Mommy?" Before she could even answer my Dad came home from work and he was crying too. I'd never seen my Dad cry before so I was scared. They told me what was happening at OLA and it made me so sad. We all just held each other and cried for what seemed like hours.
The angels cried that day, Chicago wept and an entire nation mourned. Peace be with you all.


Posted by: Laurie On: 11/30/2008 ID: 410
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
I have known about this story since about the time I was 6 years old. I am 47 now...my oldest sister was a baby in an apartment near the school. My parents have told me of this story time and time again as the smoke from the fire was so bad, my parents had to grab my sister, then a baby and evacuate. I was very touched by the photos of all these helpless children and how scared they must have been. In today's newspaper the Tribune put a face to the story I have always known in my head based on what my parents told me but have never seen on paper. My sympathy goes out to all parents who lost their precious child in this awful fire.


Posted by: JoAnn On: 11/30/2008 ID: 409
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 2119 West Ohio
I was 8 years old at the time the fire. I had a special friend that died in the fire. Her name was Beverly Burda. She lived next door to my godmother Rose. We had alot of fun together. My mother always took me over by my godmother and I always went next door to play with Beverly. She was a very special person and is missed deeply by alot of people. Even though I was younger than Beverly, we got along and had good times. I still to this day can remember her house. I would like to know where Beverly is laid to rest. Please e-mail me at joann1106@comcast.net.JoAnn Cozzi


Posted by: joanied On: 11/30/2008 ID: 408
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Massillon, Ohio
I was a fourth grader on December 1, 1958. I remember visiting my grandmother that evening and seeing the reports of the Our Lady of the Angels tragedy on television. My mother's youngest sister still lived with their mother and I can remember my mother trying to calm her so that she would not upset me. I remember hearing that the fire started at the bottom of a stair well and that children on the upper floor of the school were trapped. At that time I was in a first-floor classroom, as I would be in fifth grade. The sixth grade in my school was housed on the third floor, however, and at the end of a side hallway, farthest from the stairs. The night before I was to enter sixth grade I was awake all night thinking about the OLA fire and how the students were trapped at the top of the stairs. All that year whenever we had a fire drill or if the smell of smoke was in the air, my heart would pound and I was very frightened. Every time the reflection from a car driving by the school bounced off one of our classroom walls, I thought it was flames outside our classroom door. I don't remember sharing these fears with anyone. I just kept them inside. Over time the fear went away, but still I was relieved years later on a visit home to see that outside fire escapes had been added to the third-floor side halls of my old school. Now that I am a teacher, I always think about the safety of my students and how I would help them escape danger in our building should that disaster ever befall us. This past summer thoughts of OLA started coming back to me, and I found the OLA site on the web. I have read the books about the fire and watched the documentary. I follow the recollections and messages on this site, as well. Today, especially, all of you who have suffered (and continue to) in any way because of the fire are in my prayers. God bless you and give you peace on this terrible anniversary.


Posted by: MIchelle Moncada On: 11/30/2008 ID: 407
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
I read the book, "To Sleep with the angels" years ago. It affected me to tears...I want to say that on this horrible anniversary that all of us here, and many of us who read about the tragedy's anniversary in the paper this am are thinking about you, and hope that you recive some peace from this message board.

I am 36, obviously was not alive at the time, but the injustice struck me deeply--or as deeply as it can for not having actually been there.Years later, I read the Michelle McBride book, and I didn't realize that the physical pain never abates.

My only experience with fire was a fire-hazard of a tiny club venue. I smelled smoke, like paper burning. There were maybe 10 people that came to see us play in this junk-filled basement, and I considered myself responsible for them due to all these types of tragedies, all of which were running through my mind just then. There were two exits, a stairway (dangerous by nature) and a back exit for all purposes, blocked off by junk behind where we were to be playing. I said, "We can't start until I figure out where that smell is coming from." Turned out, some guys had a barbeque they started with paper, and the smell was seeping into the building.

Physical pain must be easier to have to live with in some ways than the memories. I was very sorry to read that McBride passed, and yet hopefully, she has found some peace after all these years--and I hope wherever she is that there is some reason for this tragic event that maybe we can't comprehend. I don't know how someone could get through a day if it were all arbitrary.

I want to hope that history never repeats itself, but what bothers me about these events the most is that things never change as much or as well as we hope they will. The awful fire in RI a few years ago was almost identical to the Cocoanut Grove in Boston in the 40's--overcrowding and flammable decorations, along with alcohol, which makes people not move as fast. When people are having fun, they will literally watch a fire burn in front of them, when there isn't a single second to waste.

I know of theatres with curtains to this day that aren't fire-code worthy becuase they're cheaper. Nothing and no amount of money is worth potentially hurting or killing someone. And I can tell you for a fact, no one clips a picece of curtain off and really finds out if the curtain is indeed fireproof. The Iroquis Fire on the site of the Ford Center for the Performing arts happened in this way; to 602 deaths. Not even a marker there. And it's still a very narrow, stair-laden wacky setup building.

Maybe fire survivor organizations can help by even being there to make sure fire-related things really are safe and not flammable, and shut places down that aren't. "Nothing's going to happen" is the most dangerous sentence in the English language; becuase it's an excuse to cut corners and "save money." And in every book I have ever read about fires, they always say "the fire codes changed dramatically..." There shouldn't BE a "grandfather clause" for not having sprinklers in a public building, even though most deaths and injuries occur in house fires--so please check you smoke alarms. Sprinkers don't cost more than carpeting.

What has changed? Maybe the tragedies of OLA and related incidents are to be changed in smaller increments. I studied crowd behaviour, and pick exits at the backs of places that no one came in at; as that's where everyone would go to. If I were playing a rock concert, I consider all those people to be my responsibility. I think of every possibility; which is the only way to be safe: always be completely ready for the worst. Have fire extinguishers always ready with the plastic ties already cut off. Fires move extremely fast, and you won't remember that if something bad happened right then. Most people freeze if a serious event happens--you must train yourself to act instead. Put the urge to panic aside til later.

When builing a house or new rooms, they do make fireproof and fire-resistant insulation for inside the walls. You buy it from recording studio insulation manufacturers. Yes, it's expensive, but if the room were even semi-sound proof, you can't believe you'd even hear a smoke alarm. Please be careful about overloading outlets and high-power appliances like a/c units (esp. in old buildings with only two electrical lines--know what line runs what and never run two high-power things on the same line at the same time), microwaves, amplifiers, hair dryers--anything that makes the lights dim a bit. These are always things that have three-pronged plugs on them.

Anything plugged into the wall can start a fire. ALWAYS use surge protectors and ground fault outlets or ground-fault plug-ins esp. around water. Ground-fault outlets have the red and black buttons on them, but you can buy one that assigns the electricity to the ground (where it always wants to go) rather than using our 75% water body content as a shortcut. Get a licensed electrician to make sure you are safe.

Animals and children can bite through cords and the surge protector will (or has in my experience) taken the brunt, and burnt out, and not hurt anyone or caused a fire in the process. Tape your cords to the wall if there's ANY potential you might spill something on the floor, or it might come into contact with water for any reason. At my house, the roof once totally failed and I woke up to it literally raining in my living room! In 60 years we've lived here, the basement never flooded, but I'm ready for it if it ever happened; as I do have a music room with a lot of power running there.

Think of where large amounts of water will end up if the bathtub overflows or a 200 gallon fishtank breaks. Use marbles and see where your water's gonna end up.

Never forget about your friend the rubber-soled shoe. If you happend to be standing in water (even dampness will work just fine) for some reason, and you're barefoot, and you then touch a short, even a tiny-powered lightbulb then has the right conditions to stupidly and senselessly kill you. Had you worn rubber shoes, you might get lucky, as the electricity can't go through the bottom of your foot, as it can't pass through rubber. Never get into the habit of picking at bagels in the toaster with butterknives! I've seen many brilliant people setting bad habits for their kids in these dumb kinds of ways.

At this time of year, water your x-mas trees...all that stuff is highly flammable...My aunt had friends that went to OLA. My family's been here for a long time, and you can sense that it still affects residents of Chicago that were here at the time when it comes up. I hope I didn't get too far off subject; but if my paranoia stopped someone from being hurt, than maybe it was worth it. I would like to have made a positive contribution to the board over being sad and not changing things to be better and safer.

I wish all of you well, Michelle M
jrnyx3@hotmail.com


Posted by: Beverly Spruill On: 11/30/2008 ID: 406
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 1162 N Harding, a few blocks from OLA
I was a 6th grader at Orr School. As we were leaving school on 12/1/58, one of the kids from OLA rode by on his bicycle and told us OLA was on fire. I went to my friend's house and there learned how bad the fire was. Her neighbor escaped by jumping out a window and made his way home with a broken ankle. On my street, George Canella, who lived across the street from me, died. 2 other kids escaped with slight physical injuries. My best friend, Mary Linda Rocco, was burned so severely that they gave her last rites. Miraculously, she survived but was hospitalized for months afterward. The 3rd floor of our school was empty, so the surviving students used our space. There was a cloud over our whole neighborhood for years afterward. There wasn't one single person who didn't have a friend or a relative who went to OLA.


Posted by: carol shabel di canio On: 11/29/2008 ID: 405
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 8 3 sister mary edgar
the principal was in our classroom because our teacher sister mary edgar was ill. she did not understand why the fire alarm went off without her being aware of a fire drill. she was very calm, but alarmed and had all of us leave the classroom in an orderly fashion. it was very confusing and we were all over the place....in church, in people's houses. the neighborhood all banned together as one big family...but it was a very tragic and heartbreaking experience. one that even, as an eight year old, I will never forget.


Posted by: Queen Esther On: 11/29/2008 ID: 404
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Washburne & Oakley Streets
I was walking home from school on Washburne near Oakley on December 1, 1958. I was 9 years old. Just as I was walking a man jumped out of a car, leaving the door open, and asked me if I knew where Cook County Hospital was? He scared me and I did not know what to do. He looked around the streets, and looked panicked. I suddenly turned around and pointed in the direction that I thought was Cook County Hospital. He smiled, and drove off. I was angry at him, because I did not know why he would ask a child for directions. I sensed something sad about him, and that was when I answered. I went into my house, which was just a few buildings away. I told my sister what had happened with the man asking me questions. She was watching TV and told me about the school fire. I was so sad, and wished I could have helped the man more. I have remembered him often over my lifetime. I pray that his life was filled with peace.


Posted by: nancy arana On: 11/29/2008 ID: 403
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 9928 hoxie/chicago/south side
I was working as a waitress in a restaurant just off Jeffery on 79th st. The radio was on and as the news started about the fire everything stopped. There was'nt a sound of eatting,of cooking of moving. We all just listened in horror to what was happening. My husband was on his way to work after dropping me off. He turned around and came back just to be with me. Our 3 children were safe at home with my mother .They were too young for school. I can't even tell you how long we listened,it seemed like a lifetime--and it was for 92 children and 3 nuns.


Posted by: JimD On: 11/29/2008 ID: 402
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Chicago (South Shore Area)
On December 1st 1958, I was one day shy of celebrating my first birthday. Of course I have no recollection of the fire, but this event has touched me in many ways. My older sister was eleven years old and remembers it quite clearly.

As a grade school student in the 1960s, I was constantly reminded of the OLA fire whenever we had a fire drill. Our teachers would not tolerate any slowness or fooling around during a fire drill. They would tell us about the terrible fire at OLA.

In the late 1980s, I worked with a man who almost became a victim of the fire; his name was Bob. Well, Bob's parents were moving to the OLA neighborhood. An apartment was rented and Bob was taken to OLA to get signed up for seventh grade. This was about two weeks prior to the fire. The apartment lease somehow failed to materilize, and Bob's parents decided not to move. In 1991, Bob died of cancer and I still remember him telling the OLA story.

Later on, I found the OLAFire.com website and began an email conversation with the late Charlene Benza. Charlene was a wonderful person and we exchanged memories of Chicago, family, and the old neighborhoods. I was invited to a Friends of OLA meeting and got to meet Charlene and the rest of the wonderful people who are part of this organization. Although I was an outsider, they made me feel very welcome.

So much has been said about this event, the victims, and the survivors. I want to add my personal blessing to the victims of this tragedy. For I believe that had this fire not occurred, certainly an equal tragedy would have happened at another one of the firetrap schools around the city and/or nation. It might have been one of my schools or yours. But it would have happened.

Of course, my biggest wish of all is that this fire had not happened; that somehow we can go back to 2:00 PM on December 1st, 1958, and make it stop. But, alas, we cannot.

I want to add that this web site is a fabulous tribute to the people who were involved and tells a story for future generations. Kudos to the webmaster for the difficult job of maintaining the site and keeping the message clear.

God bless all of the victims and survivors as we remember them on December 1st, 2008. I will always remember them.