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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: Cheryl On: 4/10/2011 ID: 554
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Hamlin and Division Street
Mostly I remember that about a year after the fire most of the children in my dance class at Marches School of Dance on Pulaski Ave. all had scars. It was actually ok though because so many had scars that no mention was ever made of them and those children were just like everybody else. I never really spoke to anyone about it.

The day of the fire all I remember... since, I lived at Hamlin and Division (about 2 blocks from the school) was the sound of ambulances and police going straight down Hamlin to get to the school.

Another memory is just how few children were playing in the neighborhood after the fire, it seemed so many disappeared.

The stories were horrific of a man who ran in to save children and had them hanging all over him, but that when he saw his own he could not pick him up. Children were already on his back and his legs hanging on.

This is first time I have ever spoken of some of my memories...those children were beautiful and if there is one good thing to come out of this it is that never would they put kindergarten children high up in the school again (it's law now). Also multiple ways out,not one long hallway. May they all rest in peace.
I still feel sadness at the loss of such beautiful children. Hope this helps somebody by hearing how survivors were so well accepted at Dance School and never made to feel less.


Posted by: David C. On: 3/30/2011 ID: 553
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
I first read of the fire at OLA in 1981 or 82 in high school. in a book called "Inferno: 14 Firey Tragedies of Our Time" by Hal Butler. It told a small part of that terrible Monday in 1958, I have read the survivors stories and explored this website extensively. I have even bookmarked it and I am so saddened by the loss of young life, but also uplifted by the heroic actions of the persons who were there. I am continuing to research this terrible moment in history. I'd like to say thank you for an excellent website to the website master and designers.I hope that the world will never forget and never experience a tragedy like this ever again.
God bless the victims, the survivors and their families.
Dave C.


Posted by: chrisd On: 3/25/2011 ID: 552
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Newport, RI
I was about 10 when the fire happened. We weren't Catholic and I attended a public elementary school. But, most of the kids in our neighborhood attended a very old Catholic school called Hazard Memorial. It was located accross the parking lot from the building my Mom worked in.
The fire at the Our Lady of the Angels School has always struck something inside me. I remember thinking at the time that I had already made out my wish-list for Christmas, probably some of those kids had too. My Mom had started shopping for the Holidays, maybe some of their Moms had also. (Important stuff for a 10 year old.)
I watched the news coverage about the fire and read about it in the paper the next day. But, the strangest thing was that even though I knew it had happened in Chicago and I lived in Rhode Island, every time I went near that old Hazard Memorial School (long demolished now) I could smell smoke and got this really queasy feeling inside.


Posted by: Ralph On: 3/25/2011 ID: 551
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Milwaukee's southside
Teresa is right, there was a wake up call.

It was front page of the Milwaukee papers. The Catholic grade school I went to on Milwaukee's south side was smaller than OLA but very simular and less than 90 miles away. The nuns that taught us were of the same order of nuns at Lady of the Angles and went to the same convent. Some of the nuns at our school knew nuns at Angels so there was a this personal, emotional conection the nuns had that could be felt in class.

The newspapers, the photos, the short distance between locations, the simulataries in schools, that could have been us. That could have been any number of places.

After the Our Lady of the Angles at our school fire drills became routine and fire alarms instaled. There was a complete change in awareness.

The only thing more numbing as a grade schooler, November 63.


Posted by: Debbie On: 3/15/2011 ID: 550
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Augusta & Kostner
Last night I was attempting to recall pivotal moments in my life. I hadn't thought about the OLA Fire in years, perhaps I've been supressing it, but an image came to mind. I have fleeting glimpses of childhood memories before the fire. I was age 6, in 1st grade at Orr. I don't remember Kindergarten or first grade there-nothing. The image from the OLA fire that came to me was identical to some of the photos on the News Page. (I found this website tonight on Google) However, the image I recalled was a child jumping from a window. Did I see this on TV? Or in a newspaper photo? Regardless, it scared me in a big way. I went to St Cyril's 2nd grade for 2 months, and if I remember correctly, the very small school was on a 2nd floor perhaps above the church. I remember being very anxious about that. However, in November, 1959 we moved to the far westside and from 2nd grade forward in a more modern Catholic school my childhood memories began. I'm thinking this devastating tragedy was my first horrific experience, not personally but as part of a community. I can't imagine if I had experienced any of it personally. God bless-


Posted by: Candyce On: 3/10/2011 ID: 549
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Middletown, New Jersey
Since I was a child, I have experienced nightmares of being in a burning building and not being able to get out. I now know it is the result of the OLA fire. I remember when the fire. I was watching TV and the story came on the news. I was transfixed, sad, and at such a horrified that such a thing could happen to innocent children. I remeber seeing a picture of a burned child praying at his desk that was in a magazine. Thank God for laws to prevent this tragedy from happening again.


Posted by: Anna Barsanti-Ventura On: 3/1/2011 ID: 548
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
My father, Robert Barsanti, was in that school on that day. A 5th grader who had no clue how his life was going to change in a split second. The stories and details that my dad tells me leave me speechless. I can't even imagine what each student, teacher, or parent went through that awful day, let alone the days, weeks, or years that followed.
My heart goes out to each family member that was effected by that fire.
I am so proud of what my dad did December 1, 1958 to survive. He is my hero. And although I was not around then, those stories, photos, and memories that my father tells me makes me so appreciative of life.
God Bless those students and families.


Posted by: Carole (Schmidt)LaPlante On: 2/28/2011 ID: 547
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Tinley Park, (south of Chicago)
I was eight years old and came home from school that day and found my mother crying. She told me about the fire and how so many innocent lives were lost. She said we must pray for all those families. I'll never forget the emotion and sadness everyone felt. I was glad to see this site and know that other people have remembered this story. Thank You.


Posted by: Woodworker On: 2/15/2011 ID: 546
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Laramie Ave. And Lake St.
Now 60, I'm sitting here with a loved one from NC, in NC telling stories about growing up in the city. Then remembering the OLA fire, and that I transferred to HOC (Our Lady Help Of Christians)prior to the fire that school year. Although just 8 at the time, I can remember clearly the loss. As I lost a cousin in the tragedy. Not totally understanding the magnitude at the time, my eyes tear in this reflective review. Our classrooms became makeshift as the stundents from OLA came on buses to share our rooms and resourses. We prayed and prayed, for those lost and those hurting. As I have been tought and as I believe, our God will always be with those who lost thier life, and the families who live with the loss of loved ones. Now as I did then, I do now and pray.


Posted by: schlmarm On: 2/3/2011 ID: 545
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Brooklyn, New York
I was 8 years old, and living in Brooklyn, New York. I remember hearing the tragic news on TV, and looking at the pictures in the NY Daily News of this sad event. It could have happened to any of us. The school buildings in those days, especially the Catholic schools were antiquated and overcrowded. To this day, as a teacher, I am ever vigilant about conditions in our school and the importance of students understanding the serious nature of a fire drill, and knowing what to do in the event of an emergency. God bless and keep those who perished that day.