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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: Faith On: 12/1/2013 ID: 631
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
I stumbled across a poem, Fires that Changed America, in an attempt to find a poem to read for UIL. In this poem it tells of the horror, the grief, and the lives of two girls that where lost as a result of the fire. It wasn't until tonight that I was bored and waiting for my phone to charge that I decided to do research about the fire and found this website. It is through discovering that these girls mentioned in my poem where real people, and that it is the anniversary of this event that I choose to write this. I have no personal connection to this, but a deep emotional one. This event was tragic, and I feel as though I am mourning for these children as well. It is through us that they live on, sending love to all from a 14 year old girl in Texas.

Long live the angels.


Posted by: Daryl Adams On: 12/1/2013 ID: 630
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Aledo, IL
I was a ten year old, living in a small western Illinois town on the day of the fire. My father hid the newspapers from me, but I found them and read every word. I was horrified by the photos and had terrible nightmares for a long time afterward. Our school was of similar vintage to Our Lady of the Angels and I was always worried a similar fire might take place there. Every year thereafter when I changed classrooms I would looked out the classroom windows to decide which window to jump from if there was a fire. Every December 1st since then I have thought about those kids. I grew up to become an architect, and in every building I have designed I have concentrated on fire safety and efficient emergency exits. It's a very small world, as decades later I moved to Chicago and became business partners with a fellow who was four years old in 1958 and lived just up the street from OLA. He said he watched the flames from his back porch. He was similarly affected. My thoughts are with you all.


Posted by: Matthew J. Kluk On: 11/22/2013 ID: 629
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 is/was a survivor of the OLA fire. I can't find his name anywhere in this website. From what I remember from his stories, he was on the 2nd floor and jumped from a window on to an awning on to the ground and ran home. His name is Anthony Raymond Kluk. He went on to become a journalist and wrote an award winning article about the fire for the Chicago Tribune years later. I am going to look for that article so I can share it on this site.

I wish I could remember what classroom my Dad was in so I could post his name up there. If anyone knows, feel free to email me @ mkluk@cox.net

Thank you!


Posted by: cosimo j. digiovanni f.f.sq.10 On: 10/25/2013 ID: 628
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before chicago
george cannella shown as a member of sq.10 was a student not a fireman. he die with his class mates 7gr. his father and i our 1st.couisn. when we arrive lt.tom lyons and company went to the second floor bringing children down to waiting police cars for transportation to hospitals. after brin frist little boy down i started to go back to the second floor class room when i heard my name being call, it was my uncle george sr. and his son george calling me. they started to tell me they cant find little george i explain. to them they could be in some one home,then my cousin told me his class room was on the second floof, it was the same room i remove the first child from. the next time i saw my family was at the wake. im 86yr.old now and this is the first time i have talk about this disaster. ola was both family cannella and digiovanni parish. my late wife and i was marriage at ola feb. 7th. 1948.


Posted by: Dennis Mc On: 8/22/2013 ID: 627
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before 72 & Yates, Chicago
Had been discharged from the Army in Sept. Had a wife and two infant boys. Having attended Catholic grade schools on the South Side was very attuned to a strong Catholic Education of the time. We were emotionally crushed and immediately volunteered for the Special Blood Drive for the victims. Had to travel to the Roseland Area on the far South Side as the closest donor location. There were lines of tearful donors.


Posted by: Ellen Chavez On: 8/15/2013 ID: 626
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before South Side of Chicago
I had just started Kindergarten that September when the fire happened. What I remember after that was the fire drills we had in school, twice a month for the rest of the school year, and monthly after that. We were trained to line up, and leave with the teacher as quickly as possible - no coats, hats, or even shoes. I remember going down the fire escape from the third floor gym in the snow.

In every school I went to, the fire drills were done with a religious intensity. We were trained to leave everything and get out.

As a Director of early childhood and school age programs, I make sure that parents are oriented to the fire and disaster drills that we have in our programs. I tell them about the OLA fire, and the profound effect it has in our city and that it prompted the school building codes and fire drills nation-wide. They often object to us moving the children out of the building without wraps - but the children are moved to another agency building close by when the weather is inclement. I remind that most children who die in fires at home were hiding in closets or under beds, and that many had gone back for belongings. Once they understand this, they usually join in the drills when present.


Posted by: paul On: 5/22/2013 ID: 625
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before North ave and Pulaski
I lived less than a mile from OLA and was a seventh grader at St. Philomena school. i remember getting out of school that day and hearing there was a fire at OLA. My friend and I drove our bikes to the school and by the time we arrived the firemen were taking the children who perished out of the school.
I still remember seeing the faces of the parents in complete horror and panic looking for their children. I remember growing up in the neighbor and there were some pretty tough cops and they too were in complete shock at the sight and each one I saw had tears in their eyes as they loaded the bodies in the paddy wagons.
A friend sent me a copy of "To Sleep with the Angels" and it brought back memories of the fire and after looking for more information I ran across this site.
I still get a little teary eyed when I think back to that day in December when the lives of so many people were changed.


Posted by: jayne (Mc Elroy) thorpe On: 5/12/2013 ID: 624
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before i don't remember
that day is always on my mind my dad took me shopping it was my birthady we hear all the noise with the fire trucks amulances dad said it was bad they would not let us go that way to go home we had to go along way around we seen on news how horrific it was for a 12 year old i am now 66 and it still gets to me get to me on my birthday i say a prayer for all that died and lived


Posted by: Michelle On: 5/2/2013 ID: 623
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No After n/a
I was not alive at the time of this tragedy but my cousin, Beverly Burda, perished in this fire. I do not know a lot of the details as it was not really talked about in our family much that I can remember. But I do remember my grandmother talking about it one time and showing us pictures. Ironically I work in the fire alarm industry and after reading all the deficiencies it saddens me to know such an event could have been avoided.


Posted by: Jean Kennedy Hunter On: 4/12/2013 ID: 622
At OLA on 12/1/58? Born before or after 12/1/58? Where Lived on 12/1/58?
No Before Stamford, Connecticut
I don't even know how this event came to my consciousness today, but I saw some mention of a Chicago parochial school fire in 1958, and it stirred a vague memory. At that time I attended a parochial school that had been built in 1906. After reading the site, I mentioned to my husband that when I started school we did not have stairwells protected from smoke, but this was fixed later. Then I mentioned that when I was in second grade, we had the old-fashioned desks with the wrought iron and inkwells. I told him they remodeled the school at the end of that year and
we had the modern desks the next year. It then hit me that they remodeled the school's interior the summer after the OLA fire. Like the Triangle Shirtwaist disaster and the Hartford circus fire, one legacy of these tragedies is that new regulations go through and people pay attention. The rest of us benefitted from the sacrifice of the children of OLA.