Fire Gong Tolled A Deadly Message |
(Editor's Note: Gary Wassinger, 11, was in his seventh grade classroom on the second floor of Lady of Angels School when a fire broke out Monday: This is his story.) |
CHICAGO, Dec 1 - I was sitting in class and just happened to look up at the clock and I saw it was 2:30. That's when it all began. |
I looked toward the door and I saw some smoke coming through the door. So I turned around to tell the boy behind me and everybody saw it then, too. |
About 10 seconds later - gee, it didn't seem more than 10 seconds - the fire gong rang. We all heard the fire bell and then we knew this was for real. |
Our nun opened the door and everybody ran out. A couple of boys fell while we were running out and I think they broke their legs. |
My buddy, Michael Giacomino - he's 13 - he was in the classroom there with me and he says he heard a lot of kids screaming and crying and yelling for their brothers and sisters. But I didn't notice that too much. |
Well, we started going down the stairs and Mike tells me he saw flames coming out of the first floor washroom. |
While I was going down the smoke got so thick I couldn't see my way down the stairs and this other buddy of mine - Basil de Stefano - I heard him cry real loud, “Let's try to get out. Everybody hold to my shirt.” |
So we grabbed Basil's shirt in line like and start going down and out the building. |
I have no idea how many kids got down and how many didn't. Part of the kids got down one set of stairs and part got down the other. |