Our Lady of the Angels fire report

On December 1, 1958, a parochial school fire killed 92 students and 3 nuns. The fire began in the basement of the 48-year-old building and billowed up an open stairway before fanning out into the second floor, trapping most victims in their classrooms and forcing others to jump from second-story windows.

Table of Contents Show

When was the Our Lady of the Angels fire in Chicago?
Who started Chicago school fire?
Who is our lady of the angels?
Was there a big fire in Chicago?

No grand jury was convened despite a scathing report issued in 1959 by the National Fire Protection Association blaming the city and officials of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for educating children in “firetraps.” Nor was the fire's cause officially determined. A 13-year-old former student's 1962 confession to arson was dismissed by a family court judge who ruled it was obtained improperly.

The tragedy's aftermath led to nationwide overhaul of fire safety codes for schools, including calls for automatic sprinkler systems, noncombustible construction, and fire alarms linked directly to the fire department. The fire was the nation's third-worst school disaster and Chicago's third-deadliest fire, trailing the Iroquois Theater fire (602 killed) and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 (250–300 dead).

Nearly 62 Years After the Our Lady of the Angels School Fire, a New State of the Art Sprinkler System is Installed at the Site

By Cathy Longley

News outlets report that the former Our Lady of the Angels school building, located on the site of a historic Chicago fire that killed 95 people, has been outfitted with a new automatic sprinkler system.

The December 1, 1958 fire at Our Lady of the Angels was one of the deadliest school fires in history – killing 92 school children and 3 nuns who were unable to exit their classrooms via the second floor hallway and stairwell given the fire's intense smoke, heat, and toxic gases.

The devastating incident began in a basement garbage bin located near a stairwell in the school's older wing and smoldered without notice for at least 20 minutes. Smoke and fire then spread up the stairwell to the first floor where it was thwarted by a closed heavy wooden door. Thick gray smoke and fumes, however, persisted up the stairwell to the second floor where it was able to spread to the hallways and classrooms because that level lacked a fire door.

Conditions intensified after making contact with combustibles such as wood construction materials, heavily waxed floors, and children's coats hanging on hooks in the hallway. The intense heat was unable to break through the roof because it had been re-tarred several times. Extra oxygen from a door that was propped open and the shattering of a glass transom window on the first floor fueled the fire. All these factors, combined with slow emergency response due to notification and communication failures, created an epic disaster that killed nearly a third of the 334 occupants on the second floor. The victims were asphyxiated, burned and forced to jump out of classroom windows.

The year after the tragedy, NFPA issued a report on the blaze and called out community and Catholic leaders in Chicago for "housing their children in fire traps". The school had recently passed a safety inspection but was exempt from retrofitting safety devices because the structure was built before 1949. Former NFPA President Percy Bugbee reportedly said at the time, "There are no new lessons to be learned from this fire; only old lessons that tragically went unheeded."

In 1960, the Our Lady of the Angels School was rebuilt. In 1999, the Archdiocese of Chicago closed the school and the building was used as a charter school until 2016, and most recently by the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels as a food pantry, daycare, and afterschool resource for families on Chicago's West Side.

Thanks to the generosity of local fire sprinkler fitters, the U.S. Alliance Fire Protection, plumbers and pipe fitter union members, the occupants of the newly renovated Our Lady of the Angels Outreach Center can take comfort in their building being protected by current life safety codes and the lifesaving benefits that come with modern day fire protection and suppression systems.

Important Notice: Any opinion expressed in this column (blog, article) is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the official position of NFPA or its Technical Committees. In addition, this piece is neither intended, nor should it be relied upon, to provide professional consultation or services.

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. On that cold December day, the school was packed with 1600 children and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs), who served as teachers, when a fire broke out in the school basement that claimed the lives of ninety-five (92 children and 3 sisters) and left hundreds with significant injuries.

The initial cause of the fire remains officially unknown, but there has been much speculation that a student started started a fire in a garbage can in a basement stairwell, out of which the flames spread rapidly. The old school, built in 1910, was woefully unprepared for a fire; for example, the building contained no alarms or sprinklers and the interior of the school was made almost entirely of wood. However, because of outdated codes and grandfather clauses for old buildings, the school had passed a fire inspection just weeks before the tragedy.

Many heroic firefighters served at Our Lady of the Angels school that day and fought very hard to save as many as possible. Delays in the initial call to the fire department, back drafts, and other logistical challenges impeded their progress and contributed to the high death toll.

The Our Lady of the Angels school fire quickly led to reforms in fire codes in schools

across the country. Likely, countless lives have been saved because of these reforms.

The Franciscans at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels are honored to live and serve at such a historic and hallowed site. The Franciscans pray daily for the repose of the souls of those who died and for those who are still affected by aftermath of the tragedy. Fr. Bob spearheaded the effort to erect the first on-site outside memorial for the victims of the tragedy, which was blessed by Cardinal George in 2007. The memorial is on the front lawn of the rectory, where the bodies of those who died were first laid when taken from the building.

We welcome all those who have been affected by the fire to come to the Mission to pray and see how the buildings now look today. Please see Contact Us to set up a time if you are interested in coming on a visit.

For more information about Our Lady of the Angels’ school fire please visit: http://www.olafire.com/Home.asp

To reconnect with survivors and/or family and friends of victims/ survivors, please visit: http://www.olafire.com/MessageBoards.asp

NEXT >> POST 1958

Picture and information source: Morgan, Eric. “Our Lady of the Angels Fire Memorial,” last modified May 26, 2013, http://www.olafire.com/Home.asp.

When was the Our Lady of the Angels fire in Chicago?

Our Lady of the Angels School Fire: Introduction The fire occurred the afternoon of December 1, 1958; 92 children and 3 nuns died as a result of the fire. Our Lady of the Angels was a Catholic elementary school in the Humboldt park community in Chicago.

Who started Chicago school fire?

The cause of the fire was never officially determined. In 1962, a boy who was a student at Our Lady of the Angels at the time of the fire, confessed to setting the blaze. At the time of the fire, he was 10 years old and in fifth grade.

Who is our lady of the angels?

The close connection between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Angels is one we see throughout her life on Earth: at the Annunciation, the Nativity of her Divine Son, her Assumption into heaven, and finally her Coronation as Queen of Angels and Men.

Was there a big fire in Chicago?

The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago and then leapt the main branch of the river, consuming the Near North Side. ... .