On december 1, 1958 a fire broke out in a catholic elementary school in chicago, illinois. For many, especially those in the chicago area, our lady of the angels is remembered because of the terrible fire that occurred in the school on december 1, 1958. The cathedral, mausoleum, conference center, gift store, galero grill cafe and plaza are closed to the public and most staff until further notice as the region works to minimize the spread of coronavirus covid19. Our lady of the angels fire survivors share their stories. Chicago civil defense chicago fire department 22e our lady of the angles school fire 12011958.
As minors and vulnerable adults participate in activities within or sponsored by our diocese, it is our commitment to provide an environment which is. This video is of the fire on december 1, 1958 at the our lady of angles school grade school fire, located at. Our lady of the angels parish fire memorial unknown1958. Can anyone give me some good resources for this fire. National archives depicts the event which claimed the lives of 92 children and three nuns. The fire was started in the basement of the catholic grade school in chicago. It was about 20 minutes before the end of classes at our lady of the angels school on the citys west side. The our lady of the angels school fire is featured on pages 61 and 62. On december 1, 1958, one of the most soulcrushing fires in american history occurred on the west side of chicago when 92 children and three nuns died at the our lady of angels school. The franciscans at the mission of our lady of the angels are honored to live and serve at. In addition to serving more than 4,500 families, the parish operated a school for more than 1,600 students, kindergarten through eighthgrade. John raymond of mount prospect is a survivor of the our lady of the angels school fire. The our lady of the angels school the fire that still burns.
On december 1st, 1958 a fire started in a trash can in the basement of our lady of the angels catholic school, 3820 w. When we came back in the room, we were all still goofing off until the teacher came in and slammed the door. Our lady of the angels school closed in 1999, and eventually was renovated, and transformed into a charter school. Jims presentation on the our lady of the angels school fire continues to. By 1960 the national fire protection association reported that major improvements in life safety were made in 16,500 school buildings in the united states within one year of. This disaster occurred at our lady of the angels school historical footage from the u. Examining the events that occurred during the fire in classrooms and outside the building is crucial to analyzing the event. It was located at 909 north avers avenue in the humboldt park area on the west side of chicago, at the intersection of west iowa street. December 27, 2012 page 1 of 4 our lady of the angels school fire. In 1959, the national fire protection association issued a report about the our lady of the angels fire, blaming civic authorities and the archdiocese of chicago for in its words, allowing fire traps such as our lady of the angels school to be legally operated despite having inadequate fire safety standards. The our lady of angels school fire occurred on december 1, 1958. His presentation on the our lady of the angels school fire in chicago, 1958, was extremely popular in 2012, and remains so. Saturday, december 1, was the 54th anniversary of the fire at our lady of the angels catholic school in chicago, illinois.
December 1, 1958 our lady of the angels school fire. The elementary school was operated by the roman catholic archdiocese. Our lady of the angels school fire december 1 1958 chicago illinois. Our lady of the angels was a catholic elementary school in the humboldt park community in chicago. Jim gibbons historical presentations bringing history to life. Our lady of the angels school fire significant illinois. A total of 92 pupils and 3 nuns lost their lives when smoke, heat. December 1, 1958 during the 1950s, the our lady of the angels parish was one of the largest in the chicago archdiocese.
This is a worldwide look at the most disastrous fires throughout the centuries, starting with the great fire of rome, july 18, 64 ad through the bush fires of indonesia, 1997. Remembering the our lady of the angels fire daily herald. Likely, countless lives have been saved because of these reforms. And, as kuenster and cowan note, the impact of the fire was soon felt nationwide. The story is centered around a small group of survivors of the fire and how the tragedy affected their lives until present day. The school was not legally bound to comply with all 1958 fire safety codes due to a grandfather clause in the 1949 standards. Ive found a website dedicated to this fire which has some good info. Our lady of the angels school passed a fire department safety inspection only weeks before the fire, because the school did not have to comply with all fire safety guidelines due to a grandfathering clause in the 1949 standards. Part 2 article by gregory havel december 27, 2012 saturday, december 1, was the 54th anniversary of. On the 1st of december, 1958, chicago was the scene of another catastrophic fire. Our lady of the angels and many other public and private schools in chicago were still governed by a 1905 city ordinance that predated a number of advancements in fire protection engineering.
In terms of fire protection features, the main school building had six exits on the first floor, and one fire escape on the second floor of the annex. The possible cause of the fire is officially unknown however a pupil sneaking a smoke in this stairway is one possible cause and has become the popular theory. Our lady of the angels school fire project gutenberg. Presentations ppt, key, pdf logging in or signing up. Our lady of the angels was an elementary and middle school operated by the roman catholic archdiocese of chicago. This tragic fire killed 92 children and three nuns. Based on his research, personal interviews and passion, jim explains the details of this event. The elementary school was operated by the roman catholic archdiocese of chicago and had an enrollment of approximately 1600 students. Video and photos of the 1958 chicago our lady of angles school fire.
The sisters of the blessed virgin mary were among both the victims and the heroes of the horrific 1958 our lady of the angels school fire. On monday, december 1, 1958, a fire broke out at our lady of the angels school in chicago, illinois, shortly before classes were to be dismissed for the day. The school was located in a mostly italianamerican middle class community. But the original section of our lady of the angels was first expanded for use as a school in 1910, and because the fire code in effect in chicago and in. History of the fire service our lady of angels fire. Our lady of the angels school fire, chicago december 1, 1958 welcome to the ideals repository. Contact debbie jackson, our safe environment coordinator for our lady of the angels at email protected with any questions. Babcock, manager and rexford wilson, engineer nfpa fi remd deparl,en. The elementary school was operated by the roman catholic archdiocese of chicago. Provides a statement made by a student present at the fire. Annette szafran was rescued from a secondfloor window 50 years ago in the our lady of the angels school fire. The fire and smoke spread quickly through the school because the door to the second floor hallway had been left open trapping the.
Later, the boy admitted that he had set the blaze, hoping for a few extra days out of school. The fire and outcome told in our introduction was taken from accounts given of the lake view elementary school fire. The play entitled when angels wept by playwright charles grippo had two productions in chicago in 20 and was based on the our lady of the angels school fire. Our lady of the angels school passed a routine fire department safety inspection weeks before the disaster. The 50th anniversary of the our lady of angels fire on dec. This was exactly how most believed the our lady of angels fire started and so reid pressed him harder. The official cause of the fire has never been determined, however, all indications point to arson. Summary december 1, 1958 was supposed to be another normal school day for the students of our lady of the angels catholic school, but it was a tragic turn of events when a fire struck the school.
The fire originated in the basement near the foot of a stairway. The our lady of the angels school fire broke out shortly before classes were to be dismissed on december 1, 1958, at the foot of a stairway in the our lady of the angels school in chicago, illinois. A fire 50 years later at the our lady of the angels catholic school in chicago, would not only claim the lives of the innocent, but, would change once again the standards which our schools would be built and maintained. Existing older schools, such as our lady of the angels, were not required to retrofit the safety devices that were required by code in all schools built after 1949. She then went off on us and warned us if we ever acted like this again during a drill, we would be writing a 10 page report on the our lady of angels fire. Our lady of the angels school fire major american fires. Our lady of the angels fire victims unknown1958 find. The boy denied starting the fire at first, but test results indicated that he was lying. The fire occurred at our lady of the angels school in chicago in the year 1958.
Our lady of the angels school fire, chicago december 1, 1958. But the original section of our lady of the angels was first expanded for use as a school in 1910, and because the fire code in effect in chicago and in illinois in 1958 only required a school to. Existing schools were not required to retrofit the safety devices that were required in all newly constructed schools. The our lady of the angels school fire quickly led to reforms in fire codes in schools across the country. Raw video shots of our lady of angels school fire that occurred on december 1, 1958. Ninety pupils and three nuns at this roman catholic grade. Serg uccetta was 12 years old on december 1, 1958, when fire raced through our lady of the angels school on the west side, killing 92 children and three nuns. Francis assisi parish in 1991, and the archdiocese rented the church which was undamaged by the fire, to the new miracle temple church of god in christ for 20 years. Introduction the fire occured the afternoon of december 1, 1958. Our lady of the angels catholic school, k1 to k 12, caught on fire in the late afternoon shortly before the dismissal bell.
See more ideas about angel fire, fire and chicago school. Our lady of the angels, a chicago fire that should not be. Tm shortly before classes were to be dismissed on december 1, 1958, fire broke out at the foot of a srairway in the our lady of the. The fire at our lady of angels school on december 1, 1958, killed 92 children and 3 nuns, caused radical changes in the fire codes for schools, and remains unsolved. Im doing a report on the 1958 our lady of angels school fire in chicago, il. The story behind another great chicago fire the chicagoist.
449 1490 1284 1284 870 869 1371 1071 1021 1244 445 1383 207 886 173 1292 1489 1248 658 413 67 1292 1232 126 1 1151 855 945 1136 695 888 476 1410 1010 1371 370 1132 1350 107 428 514 107 397 23 57 1339 887 605