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Sadly, we live in a day and age where school tragedies are all too common. School shootings have claimed numerous innocent victims. Unfortunately, there have been other school tragedies in American history, including a bombing and fires. One of the worst fires occurred on December 1st, 1958, at the Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago. 95 people perished in a school fire that was likely the result of arson.
A neighborhood, a parish, and a city were scarred for decades. Part 1: Our Lady of the Angels Our Lady of the Angels was a parish that served the residents of Chicago's West Side. It was one of the largest parishes in a city that had a population of roughly 3.5 million people during the late 1950s. Some 2 million residents in Chicago were Catholic, and there were over 250 parishes in the city.
The church for Our Lady of the Angels was built around 1894, and the school was built in 1900 with an addition completed after 1910.
Chicago has been viewed as a city of neighborhoods, and it was also a city where people knew where you lived based on your parish. If someone said they went to Our Lady of the Angels, then people knew they lived somewhere near Iowa Street or Avers Avenue on the west side of town. During the 1950s, the parishioners for Our Lady of the Angels were mostly Italian immigrants, Polish immigrants, and Irish Catholics.
Some 4,500 people were part of the parish, and roughly 1,600 children attended the school which housed students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Those who attended Our Lady of the Angels recalled some classes had upwards of 60 students, and there were times when some students were seated and others had no choice but to stand because there were not enough desks for the children.
Even the church was known to be packed on Sundays. There were numerous services where families had to arrive early to find a seat. Afterwards, the families would go home for a big family meal. The aroma of a wonderful home-cooked meal could be smelled from blocks away. Nuns from the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary taught at Our Lady of the Angels.
They were remembered for being no-nonsense teachers that carried rulers since they were vastly outnumbered by students. While they were strict, the nuns did build a relationship with the students and their families. Father Joe Agnabena was one of the priests assigned to the parish, and he was remembered as a handsome and kind young priest that looked after the children. Some remembered him handing out coins to students on their way to the movie theaters or to a corner market.
Although the school for Our Lady of the Angels was built in 1910, it was reportedly up to code according to the local fire regulations. Rules at the time allowed certain buildings to be grandfathered into some sort of clause that prevented them from retrofitting the school. The school was a U-shaped, two-story brick building that had a wooden interior.
The wood for the floors, stairs, and railings were said to have been coated in a wax made from petroleum, which was flammable. The school building reportedly had one fire escape. It did not have a fire alarm system or a sprinkler system. Fire extinguishers were reportedly placed seven feet from the floor, making them impossible to reach. The school did not even have an alarm system for fires. All they had was a bell to alert the students.
An October 1958 fire inspection at the school stated that the second floor stairwell lacked a fire door. Around that time, the students had successfully completed fire drills at the school. Part 2: The Fire December 1, 1958 was a typical school day. Some of the children were a bit excited because it was 24 days until Christmas. It was a cold day and the students were finishing up their daily lessons.
A few students had their eyes on the clocks waiting for the dismissal bell. Somewhere in the school basement, a fire had been started in a trash can. The fire was believed to have been lit sometime between 2:00 PM and 2:20 PM. The fire spread quickly due to the storage of papers and other flammable items.
The fire went undetected by anyone in the school for 15 or 30 minutes before it was too late. WTTW, a PBS station in Chicago, interviewed those who had survived the fire for a documentary. Carlos Lozano was a student at Our Lady of the Angels, and he recalled seeing smoke coming into the classroom. Lozano said he alerted one of the nuns of the situation,
The nun opened the classroom door and there was a blast of fire and smoke. While this was going on, a window in the school exploded and allowed more air into the building, which fueled the fire. The flammable interior was fueling an incredibly dangerous fire that was moving rapidly.
Former students interviewed by WTTW said that their classrooms erupted into chaos because the smoke along with toxic fumes were filling the rooms, making it difficult to breathe. Students made their way to the windows to get fresh air and to escape the situation. In one of the worst areas consumed by the fire, there was an estimated 300 students and teachers who were trapped in second floor classrooms.
They couldn't leave their rooms because the fire was in the hallway which would have led them to safety. In the classrooms, the nuns attempted to calm the students by telling them to pray and to wait for the fire department. Luciana Mordini was one of those students. Her teacher had told the class to pray to God for safety. Mordini jumped out of her desk and went to the window where she climbed out to the ledge.
She told WTTW that the last thing she recalled was being on the ledge before falling two stories or 25 feet to the ground. Mordini hit her head when she landed. A school janitor frantically grabbed a ladder to reach the other students trapped on the second story. Some climbed out of the window to the ladder, others jumped, and others were too terrified to do anything. The closest fire station was alerted to the fire at Our Lady of the Angels.
They were three miles from the school and the firefighters moved quickly. Some of the firefighters were from the neighborhood and had attended Our Lady of the Angels. Sadly, the firefighters were sent to a different building and not the school. They lost valuable time going from one building to the school. When they arrived, hundreds had evacuated the school which was engulfed with flames, but there were more trapped inside.
At the same time, parents arrived because it was almost time for the school to dismiss. They saw the fire raging in the school and did everything they could to help get children out of the building. Fire ladders were put up to the windows and children were carried down the ladder. Fire nets were used to catch the children. But so many children were falling from the windows that the firemen holding the nets were injured.
The police also arrived to help, and ambulances were called to the scene. An estimated 200 first responders did everything in their power to save the children and teachers. As the fire was being put out, the roof to the school collapsed. Those who were still trapped were killed. Witnesses said the sights and sounds were beyond horrible. The mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, arrived on the scene.
It was reported that the disaster at Our Lady of the Angels brought him to tears. This episode is brought to you by Acorns. Imagine if every purchase you made could help build your financial future effortlessly. Thanks to Acorns, this is possible. Acorns makes it easy to start automatically saving and investing for you, your kids, and your retirement. You don't need a lot of money or expertise to invest with Acorns.
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Part 3. The Chaos Hospitals were filling up with students and teachers injured from the fire at Our Lady of the Angels.
Many had broken bones from jumping out of windows, while others had been burned. One former nurse at a local hospital told WTTW that the hospital smelled of burned patients. Frantic parents arrived as well to see if they could find their children. Those parents that could not find their children in the hospitals made their way to the county morgue. The dead had been sent there for families to identify. There were families that lost a child, while others lost multiple children in the fire.
92 children died and three nuns died as well. The nation mourned as news of the tragic fire was reported, funerals were held, and the city came out to show their respects to those who had perished in the fire. Mayor Richard Daley set up a fund that assisted the families with their hospital bills. Part 4: Aftermath Administrators sent students that had survived the fire to nearby schools one week after the blaze.
A survivor of the fire said the first thing they did when they arrived at their new school was to look out of their second-story classroom window. They wanted to know how big the drop was in case they needed to jump out. Others recalled that the survivors of the fire had some form of PTSD and were acting out in school. Classes that once had 50 to 60 students were down to 10 or 12 students. It was incredibly difficult for these students to move on.
Nothing in the way of counseling was offered to the students and the families. Survivors were told not to discuss the fire, and it weighed heavily on them. A former student recalled one of the nuns from Our Lady of the Angels who had been moved to a different school. They said the nun was having something of a personal meltdown in class and began questioning God. That student said the nun walked out of class, and it was the last time they taught at the school.
Students that survived the fire were given back some of their personal belongings that were recovered from the ashes. Coats and other items reeked of smoke, and the smell reminded students of the horrible fire. Some families made the difficult decision to move because the location had too many terrible memories. When Christmas arrived, it was difficult for many of the families. A time of celebration was a reminder that a child would not be there to share the joy of the holidays.
The fire led many in the parish to question their faith. How could something like this happen? Why were they being punished? Part 5: The Investigation An official investigation began nine days after the fire ravaged the school. Students were questioned by the police because there was a rumor that the fire was caused by students smoking in the school basement. However, their report provided very little regarding a cause.
One year after the fire, a report was released by the National Fire Protection Association. The report stated that the people who were in charge of the school failed to provide the proper fire safety equipment to ensure the safety of the students. The report also referred to the school as a fire trap, and the student deaths were the result of the failure of those in authority at Our Lady of the Angels. Fire safety laws for schools changed due to the tragic fire.
A new school for Our Lady of the Angels was built in 1960 on the site of the old school. Another shocking revelation was made by a private fire inspector. They claimed the fire at the school was the result of arson. For some reason, this information was kept from the public for a number of years. Chicago police caught a break a few years after the fire. They were contacted by police in Cicero, Illinois.
A young boy had admitted to starting fires in that town, but also confessed to starting a fire at Our Lady of the Angels. The boy admitted they were excused from class to use the restroom, but walked to the basement where they dropped some matches in a wastebasket and walked back to class. The confession shocked Chicago. His name was withheld by police and a judge dismissed the confession in court because it was not properly obtained.
It should be noted that the boy told investigators information about the fire that was not made public. He also told the police that he feared his mother and stepfather more than he did the police. The same judge exonerated the suspect but found him guilty of starting the fires in Cicero. Some believe the boy was the suspect that started the fire at Our Lady of the Angels. To this day, some survivors are frustrated that the boy was never brought to justice.
In 2004, the person who was believed to be the arsonist died. Their name has never been publicly released. Over 65 years later, the fire at Our Lady of the Angels school remains undetermined. The Archdiocese of Chicago paid millions in various wrongful death lawsuits. The school closed due to low enrollment in 1999. But the building still stands today.
A mission has operated out of the building in recent years, and they have handed out food and clothing to the less fortunate. Conclusion The 1958 fire at Our Lady of the Angels is equally heartbreaking and frustrating. It is difficult to find a silver lining in this case. A memorial for those who died in the fire is at the Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Chicago. Since 1958, no student has died in a school fire in Chicago.
