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Our Lady of the Angels (OLA) School Fire, December 1, 1958
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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.
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Posted by: Paul On: 3/7/2009 ID: 473
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 716 N Avers
I recall the day very well and still wonder why God made me one of the chosen few that did not go to school that day. I was 7 years old at the time and loved to play in the snow. My grandfather had bought me a new sled a day before the fire. I took it out for a try that morning before school down by Calders Moving Company where the sidewalk had alot of ice. I ran with the sled and jumped on doing belly flops and having a ball. About the fifth try I went over the sled and busted my lip pretty bad. I went home to show my grandmother she put a cold wash rag on it and she said your still going to school even with the fat lip. No way was I going school looking like that. I looked for a good place to hide from her so I rolled out the paino from against the wall and got behine it and pulled it back so she could not find me. She gave up the search after calling my name over and over. Now I was safe. She had the radio on in the kithhen and I could hear everything. It was some time later that I heard lots of fire trucks screaming off some where. I snuck out my fromt door and could see the smoke in the sky. My grandmother grabed me by my shirt and started to cry and told me to get my coat on. She was a big woman but I'll never forget how fast she walked as we got to the school. We stood right across the street from the fire as people from every where were running crying and screaming for their children.I had no idea what I was about to see. Everytime my grandmother tried to cover my eyes it seemed I couldent look away. The fire and the memory of it destroyed many years of my childhood as I always had a fear of being in a school and it catching fire. When I was sent to Ryerson Grammer School I would just look out the window or look down to see how far it was if I had to jump. Whenever they had fire drills at Ryerson when they got us all outside I could look up and see OLA all over again. I started skipping alot of school and getting in trouble with the friends I skipped with. It seemed I could not study like the other kids. Always having a fear that my time may be next. I am 57 years old now. I survived 3 near death heart attacks, 1 stroke, a car wreck that split it in half,and more. My reason for still being here ????? I pray for all the families who have lost a loved one at OLA. May God bless you and take away all your pain. Me,I will never forget. Paul


Posted by: scain On: 3/6/2009 ID: 472
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
My grandfather was attending mortuary school in Chicago at the time of the fire, and was in fact on his way home and saw it burning.
He worked as a mortician for 45 years and he said that the worst thing he's ever in his life had to witness, mortician or not, was this fire.
I have only seen him become upset enough to start to weep twice in my life. One, being when my father died, his only son; and recalling this fire and the work that he had to do with the lost souls of this fire.
It goes so far beyond a tragedy, its indescribable.


Posted by: Mary D On: 3/1/2009 ID: 471
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
While recently speaking to a co-worker who is 11 years older than myself, she told me a story about when she was a young girl in Catholic school in Little Chute, WI. It was December, 1958. The school nuns told the children about the OLA fire and told them to kneel down and pray for the children. My friend vividly remembers kneeling on the floor and praying. She was only 10 years old. This image stuck in her head some 50 years later as she relayed it to me. She said she looked it up on the internet and found this site. She said it was so interesting. Although I was born 4 months after the fire, I, too, went to Catholic school in Appleton, WI, for 8 years. I was intrigued and went to this site. I then went right out and got the book "To Sleep With the Angels" from the library. I could not put it down and read it all in one day. I wanted to offer my sympathy to all of the victims, both living and dead. I can only imagine the pain and suffering that you have all endured over the years. Unfortunately, the 50's was a different time, when no one was encouraged to talk about unpleasant things or tragedies of any kind. Counseling and therapy were unheard of. I believe that even if the children had been in a public school, they would have been encouraged to "move on" and not speak of the tragedy. That's the way it was done back then. No one knew about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Of course, we all know how wrong that is now to not talk about it. I grew up in an alcoholic home, and my mother always told us to "not tell anyone about Daddy." She didn't know any better. We held our emotions inside and carried on as best we could. There was no Al-anon. My mother had no help. She didn't even tell her own mother what was going on. You didn't divorce. That's the way it was. I do not believe the fire was "God's will." This was human error on the part of the state laws & codes at the time for allowing a "grandfather" clause, perhaps some nuns who did not act fast enough during the fire, the wrong address was given, the diocese for using an old building. And it most probably was the act of one very disturbed child. It reminds me of the Titanic tragedy. A whole lot of things that went wrong all at the same time. Arrogance played a part, too, on the part of the lawmakers at the time and the diocese. God does not do these things. We are human, we are fallible, the church is fallible, we are fragile. What I'm trying to get at is that I know that for some, there is much pain and bitterness yet regarding the church and what was done and not done for the survivors. You are all totally entitled to this bitterness. There is no way I can understand the depth of your pain and sorrow. But I'm hoping that you can find a way to forgive those who wronged you back then and find peace. I also want you know that fire safety was of utmost importance to our nuns back when I was in school in the 60's and 70's. They really emphasized it. We had Fire Prevention Week every year and made posters, we practiced fire safety. I have no doubt that it was due to the OLA tragedy. At least they did learn from their mistakes and laws and codes were changed. I feel so bad for those who were told "only the good ones were taken." That is so awful. May God forgive them, for they did not know what they were doing by saying that to you precious children. I wish you all God's peace and the warm love of family and friends. Take care of yourselves. You, too, are all God's Special Angels. Your friends, teachers, and schoolmates that were taken that day want you to be happy and find joy in your life. God wants this, too. And so do I. God bless all of you.


Posted by: Gina On: 2/26/2009 ID: 470
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before San Francisco
I was in the 8th grade at Cathedral Presentation School in San Francisco. I don't remember how I heard of the fire but remember seeing photos of the victims in their school uniforms and identifying with them. Shortly after that, there were inspections by the fire department and safety talks by a fireman who came to our classroom. They were needed because our building was a wooden victorian converted to a school and the neighborhood surrounding it, where I lived, was full of victorians in poor repair and fires were a frequent occurrence. The Our Lady of the Angels fire has haunted me the rest of my life.


Posted by: Ann Marie On: 2/20/2009 ID: 469
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before New Haven, CT (life-long resident)
I was in Fourth Grade at the time, attending public school,having just moved to the "burbs" from an ethnic neighborhood. Our schools were very old as well. I felt such empathy for those poor kids and their families. This had to have been the blackest day in American history. I recall that after that fire, we had very and I mean very frequent fire drills. Our schools were updated to bring them up to code. Somehow, I couldn't shake that sadness. The 50th anniversary this last December stirred those feelings once again.

Thank you.


Posted by: Ann On: 2/16/2009 ID: 468
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Washington, D.C.
I was a 7th grader in a Catholic parish school in Washington, D.C. The bathrooms were down a short stairwell from the main floor, and had no windows. I was terrified after December 1, 1958 that if a fire started in the bathrooms or basement, we would have no way to escape. The pictures in Life magazine didn't help.

Not talking about the fire was obviously the accepted way to deal with it, as I don't remember any grownups counseling any of us. I was utterly horrified by what happened, and had a strong sense that "there but for the grace of God go I." When Michele McBride's book was published I was obsessed with finding a copy. Then, when To Sleep With the Angels followed, I compared details between the two books. It isn't just a morbid curiosity or fascination with others' misery, though. In an odd way, I think many of us who were school kids that day, especially in Catholic schools, suffer from a kind of survivor's guilt when we think about what happened. Remember how we Catholic school kids had a kind of camaraderie against "those public school children"? I wonder if it might have caused us to feel more of a bond with the OLA boys and girls who suffered in so many ways on that day and forever after.

Even for those of us who were not there, it remains "the fire that will not die." I keep those who were there in my prayers.


Posted by: Mako On: 2/16/2009 ID: 467
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Norton, Massachusetts
I remember that I was 11 years old the year of the fire. My parents had a subscription to Life magazine and I read all about it. The children who died were either my age or a little older or younger. This is something I have never forgotten and recall it like it was yesterday. For a long time after wards,I had nightmares and had to be reassured that our house or school would not burn down. I was so scared. If it could happen to these innocent children, I felt it could also happen to me. To this day, I still feel the sadness of that day.


Posted by: Bob On: 2/8/2009 ID: 466
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Queens, N.Y.
I was in the sixth grade in a Catholic school in Queens at the time of the tragedy, so I felt a connection to the kids at Our Lady of the Angels. I still remember seeing pictures of the children's coffins at a funeral service. It left me very badly shaken. I am 61 years old now, and I have never forgotten the horror of that day.


Posted by: Linda On: 2/6/2009 ID: 465
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Lawler & Division
I lived 1 block away from St. Anne's Hospital and I went to school at Our Lady Help of Christians. I remember just sirens, and our phone ringing constantly because my aunts and other family members were worried that it was our school that was burning. I was 8 years old and my brother was 11. We walked to St. Annes to see the ambulances pulling into the ER entrance, we saw children with their bodies smoking. I will never forget that, I have lived in fear of fire ever since. The children from OLA came to our school after the fire. I never spoke to them, I was so afraid to talk to anyone. I guess I thought if we talk about it, it will happen again. I used to lay awake at night and just cry, I was afraid my apt building would burn down. Ironically my son is now a Chicago Firefighter. God works in very mysterious ways, may the little angels be at His right hand now and forever.


Posted by: Judy Tortorice On: 2/1/2009 ID: 464
Enrolled on 12/1/58? Present on 12/1/58? Injured? Age Grade Classroom Teacher
Yes Yes No 11 6t 203 Miss Rossi
I remember being sent to the back of the room to sit because I was talking. Being in the back of the room, I was one of the ones to smell smoke first. Immediately, Miss Rossi opened the door and led us out to the staircase. It was thick with smoke and we ran down the stairs to safety. We were led into the church to pray but I worried about my sister Rose who was in 8th grade. I left church thinking I would get in trouble but could'nt help it. As soon as I walked out, I saw my mom and dad in the street on Hamlin crossing Iowa. They had been shopping and my dad, upon seeing me, dropped his bags and ran over to me. I was sent home so I did not see any of the horrific tragedy first hand. My dad helped Fr. Ognibene pull the children out of the 8th grade class screaming for my sister Rose. He did, in fact save her, but was never the same. He lived out the rest of his life terribly depressed and died of cancer in 1986 at the age of 70. I will never forget his heroism and know that he knows now how many people are grateful for his effort.My sister Rose passed away in 1992,only 47 years old, from cancer.She left behind 2 beautiful daughters, a loving husband and a family who misses her so very much.