OLAFire Logo
Our Lady of the Angels (OLA) School Fire, December 1, 1958
nUserID=0

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.
Click here to add your OLA fire experience.        

Posted by: A.Pettey On: 12/5/2008 ID: 443
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 become very interested in what happened at OLA. I read the book To Sleep With Angels and now am reading the new book. My mom remembers being pregnant with my sister and hearing about the fire. She felt so sad that she was bringing a new life into the world and that so many other parents were going through such sorrow. I'm also a mother and can't imagine what it was like. I pray for the children and nuns who lost their lives and also for their families.


Posted by: Josephine(Joyce LaSalvia)Cusimano On: 12/3/2008 ID: 442
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 12 8 209 Sr. Mary Davidas
Everyone has said about so many things. The main thing I want to
say is that if it were not for Sr. Mary Davidas, Father Joe, and Mr. Tortorice there would have been more fatalities in my classroom.
Sister was so strong and calming to us (as I remember) telling us
what to do. Throwing our books against the doors for the smoke & fire
to consume also I remember her telling us to push all the desks by the
door also for the same reason. She told us to open the windows all
the way so it would create double panes so the windows wouldn't
break from the heat.
We were all so scared. I heard Mr. T yell to his daughter my friend Rose Tortorice. Rosie, get to a window, get to a window We were
fortunate enough to get to the window of freedom sat on the ledge and dropped down into Father Joe's arms and back into the safe side of the
school down the steps and went into the church were so many kids
were crying. I remember being in 8 th grade, and a little older ,trying
to console the little ones. Curiousity got the best of a lot of us
and we went outside where people were bringing blankets and coats
to us. I did call home and tell my sister I was ok. Later that night
everyone was at the school trying to find friends and relatives lights all over the place. I couldn't find my friend Mary Louis Tamburino and later found out we lost her. It was so sad. I think about them all the time and just wonder what great things they all could have been or done. They will never leave my heart and my thoughts.


Posted by: Alvin Jensen Jr. On: 12/3/2008 ID: 441
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Cicero and North Aves, Chicago, Ill.
I was only 3 at the time. We lived not to far from Our Lady of Angels. My Grandmother who lived at Chicago and Cicero called my Mother about the large amount of smoke coming from down by us. My Mother went out and saw the area was really smoky. I remember all the fire trucks going by our apt. that afternoon. When my Father got home from work, he was really concerned about the fire. He had several friends that had kids that went to that school.
My Father marched with the Austin [Chicago] Grenadiers and several freinds were staff members of the Royal Airs Drum and Bugle Corps. With so many friends connected to Our Lady of Angels, it really bothered him.
A couple of years later, we moved to Morton Grove, Ill. When I was in first grader at Grove School, we had a fire in the lunchroom. I saw the fire start when a cook spilled liquid on the stove. The fire alarm sounded but we, in the lunchroom, already were on our way out of the school. The fire station was only 2 blocks away. Fire trucks were at the school with in minutes. It was cold, and lots of snow on the ground. I remember a couple of teachers mention the lessons learned from the Our Lady of Angles fire.
I have read the book To Sleep With The Angels and found an old Chicago paper dated Dec. 2, 1958 which I boought. Several times while in Chicago, I have stopped at the memorial at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.
I have taught my kids the importance of the fire drills at their schools.
LET US NOT FORGET THE VICTIMS, SURVIVERS, AND FAMILIES OF THE FIRE.

Al Jensen
Minnesota Brass Inc. Drum And Bugle Corps.


Posted by: NANCY LEWANDOWSKI MOLSKI On: 12/3/2008 ID: 440
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 8 3 MRS. WILKINS
I WAS 8 YEARS OLD, IN MRS. WILKINS' 3RD GRADE CLASS. MY BROTHER GREG WAS IN SISTER EUNICE'S 1ST GRADE CLASS. WHEN THE FIRE BELL RANG MRS. WILKINS WENT OUT IN THE HALL AND THEN SAW SMOKE IN THE AVERS AVE. STAIRWELL. SHE GOT US OUT OF THE CLASSROOM VERY FAST AND TOOK US ACROSS THE STREET. WE SOMEHOW GOT OVER TO HAMLIN AND IOWA. KIND HEARTED PEOPLE TOOK USE INTO THEIR APARTMENTS TO KEEP US WARM. IT WAS THERE THAT I SAW MY AUNT JENNY SALERNO OUTSIDE. I RAN OUT TO HER AND SHE BROUGHT ME TO MY MOTHER WHO WAS LOOKING FOR ME AND MY BROTHER GREG. WE FINALLY FOUND GREG IN A HOME ON AVERS AND AUGUSTA. MY MOTHER TOOK US HOME..AWAY FROM THE TRAGEDY. SHE WAS SO THANKFUL WE WERE BOTH UNHURT. MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS LOST CHILDREN OR THEIR CHILDREN WERE BURNED. I STILL THINK ABOUT THEM. IT WAS A SAD, TERRIBLE DAY...WE WILL ALL BE FOREVER JOINED TOGETHER IN THIS MEMORY. GOD BLESS ALL.
NANCY LEWANDOWSKI MOLSKI
GOODYEAR, ARIZONA


Posted by: Kenneth Sienkiewicz On: 12/2/2008 ID: 439
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 10 5 212 Sister Mary Claire Therese
I would like to talk to any room 212 survivers


Posted by: Sandi (Cullen) Oswald On: 12/2/2008 ID: 438
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Bartlett, IL
My grandmother's best friend was Francis Giacomino, and Fran's youngest son was Mickey (Michael) Giacomino. Mickey was in Room 208 the day of the fire. Mickey and I were pretty close, we were kind of like cousins. My grandparents raised me as their own child. Mickey's Dad's sister was married to my Uncle Art, and we were raised close. We went on vacations and stuff together, and I had the biggest crush on him for years and years. I was 10 at the time of the fire. I remember when I got home from school my gram had tv on and it was on about the school being on fire and I could see kids just standing at the windows and they couldn't get out. The screaming was horrible. I remember my gram started to cry and grabbed the phone to call Francis to see if Michey was all right, but the call couldn't go through because everyone was trying to call people in the area. We didn't know until late that night that Mickey was ok. But he would never talk about the fire. Three years later we went on vacation to Minnesota (Gram and me and Francis and Mickey) I tried to ask him about what happened but he refused to talk about it. Years later I came home from England in August of 1969 and went to Mickey and Linda's wedding. I have only seen him a handful of times since then. My gram died in June of 1989 and I only saw his brother George at her wake and funeral. We have lost touch over the years and it sure would be nice to see him again. I think he lives in Round Lake now but I'm not sure.


Posted by: Susan Garstki McManus On: 12/2/2008 ID: 437
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Harlem and Foster area, Chicago NW Side
I was eight years old and in the third grade at St. Monica School at 5100 N. Montclare Ave. I remember watching the TV and reading the newspapers, and praying in school for the sisters and children who were killed.

Sometime after that, a boy came to our school who had been in the fire. He was a year older than I, so he had been in fourth grade at the time of the fire. His name was Leroy. I can't remember his last name. His head had apparently been severely burnt, and we wore a head covering covering the back of his head. It was somewhat like a bonnet and tied under his chin.

My dad's family was from St. Hyacinth's, and everyone seemed to know of someone who had been there.


Posted by: Evelyn Bonilla On: 12/2/2008 ID: 436
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Newark, New Jersey
I remember the nuns at St. Lucy's Catholic School in Newark, NJ telling us that 90 school children died in a fire and that was why we had fire drills. We all vacated the upstairs of the building very quietly although I was very self-conscious of going down the fire escape since in those days girls wore jumpers and I thought all the boys were looking up at us. Years later, I became a teacher and for 25 years always reprimanded my students for their cavalier attitude during a drill. I would tell them one thing I take seriously is a fire drill and I would recount the story. One day looked up on the internet "school fires" but this did not come up and it only showed a few public school fires. This made me doubt my story. Today 12/2/08 I sadly viewed the 50th anniversary of that loss. It still brings tears.


Posted by: Gerri On: 12/2/2008 ID: 435
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Wheeling, IL
We lived in a three-flat near St. Hyacinth Parish. My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, were all well familiar with the neighborhood and where OLA school and church stood. Although I was only three years old, I can recall flashes of memory from the TV and then hearing my parents talk about the fire.

Later as an adult, and a Registered Nurse, I had the priviledge of knowing and caring for Ms. Michelle McBride, one of the survivors, who also wrote a book entitled, "The Fire and Will Not Die". The stories she and her family shared will always have an impact on me.

I attended the 40th, 45th, and 50th anniversary masses and each time was extremely touched and overwhelmed with emotion. May God bless all the angels and those who risked their lives to help others that fateful day.


Posted by: Kathleen Powers Goodridge On: 12/2/2008 ID: 434
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Chicago, IL / Little Flower Parish
On December 1, 1958, I was a nine year old in the fourth grade at Little Flower School on the South Side at the corner of 80th and Honore Streets. In many ways OLA School reminds me of Little Flower School. After the tragedy, new fire alarms were installed on every floor at a level that children could reach, and we were instructed in their use. Starting in January 1959 and continuing throughout my grammar school days, the Chicago Fire Department regularly supervised our fire drills several times a year. Some drills were announced in advance so we could be ready and wearing our coats, but most drills were unannounced. I remember one drill in particular. The fire alarm sounded, and the entire school evacuated the building to stand in quiet lines on the streets. After just ten minutes or so, we returned to our classrooms, sat at our desks, opened our books, and the fire alarm sounded again. Again, we evacuated the building. The CFD was timing us, and we had not evacuated quickly enough the first time. I, and my 1400 classmates at Little Flower School, were safer during the rest of our school days, thanks to the sacrifices of the OLA students and their families.