Angels Fire

In the intense heat, a window at the foot of the stairwell shattered, giving the smoldering fire a new supply of oxygen.

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The wooden staircase itself burst into flames and, acting like a chimney, sent super hot gases, fire and smoke swirling up the stairwell. The first floor landing was equipped with a heavy wooden door which effectively blocked the fire and heat from entering the first floor hallway.

But the second floor landing had no doors - the fire, smoke and heat were free to roam the second floor halls at will. As the fire was climbing consuming the stairway, a pipe chase running from the basement to the cockloft above the second floor ceiling gave the superheated gases a direct route to the attic, where the temperature rapidly rose higher and higher until it finally reached ignition temperature.

Almost as though planning a coordinated attack, the fire swept through the halls of the second floor in the north wing of the school, and flashed through the cockloft above the classrooms.

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By the time the students and their teachers in the second floor classrooms realized there was a fire, their sole escape route the center hallway was all but impassable. For children and 5 teaching nuns, the only remaining means of escape was to jump from their second floor windows to the concrete and crushed rock 25 feet below, or to pray for the fire department to arrive and rescue them before it was too late.

Recognizing the trap they were in, some of the nuns encouraged the children to sit at their desks or gather in a semi-circle and pray. And they did - until the smoke, heat and flames forced them to the windows. But there were no firemen to rescue them.

Some began jumping - others fell or were pushed. Finally, firefighters arrived and began rescuing children from the second floor windows, but the hellish conditions in some of the classrooms had become unbearable, and children were stumbling, crawling, clawing and fighting their way to the windows, trying to breathe and escape.

Many jumped, fell or were pushed out before firefighters could get to them. Some were killed in the fall, and scores more were injured.

Chicago to mark 60th anniversary of Our Lady of the Angels fire

Many of the smaller children were trapped behind the frantic crowds at the windows, blocking any chance to escape through a window. Many of the little ones who managed to secure a spot at a window were then unable to climb over the three-foot-high window sills, or were pulled back by others frantically trying to scramble their way out. Helplessly, firefighters watched in horror as classrooms still filled with frightened children exploded in flames, instantly killing those who remained. The first fire department units had arrived within four minutes of being called, but by then the fire had burned unchecked for as long as 30 minutes and was raging out of control.

Also, they were delayed upon arrival because they had been incorrectly directed to the Rectory around the corner, and lost valuable minutes repositioning their trucks and hose lines after realizing the true location of the fire. The south windows of the north wing overlooked a small courtyard surrounded by the school on three sides, and a seven foot iron picket fence on the fourth side.

The gate in the fence was locked -- firefighters could not get to the children at the south windows without first breaking through the gate.

50 years later, survivors and alumni gather to remember victims of Our Lady of the Angels fire

They spent a valuable minute or two battering the iron gate with sledge hammers and a ladder, before it finally gave way. Between the delayed discovery and reporting of the blaze, the fire-friendly school and the misdirection of the fire units, the firefighters arrived too late. Although they rescued more than children from the burning inferno, many of the children they eventually carried out of the school that day were dead.

Some of the bodies were so badly burned that they literally broke into pieces when firemen attempted to pick them up. Eighty-seven children and three nuns died on December 1, as a result of the Our Lady of the Angels fire. Three more critically injured children died before Christmas followed by two more in , the last one on August 9. Requested materials can be picked up in person at IFSI.

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• Chicago to mark 60th anniversary of Our Lady of the Angels fire?
• Our Lady of the Angels School Fire, Chicago, Illinois, December 1, - Summary of the tragedy.
• For Members Only: The Story of The Mobs Secret Judge - New Version for 2012!
• Survivors, alumni gather to remember victims of Our Lady of the Angels fire?

Additional access restrictions may also apply. Our Lady of the Angels School Fire: Introduction Photo from the Chicago Tribune. Summary written by Adam Groves.

• Just Chill - Part4.
• Our Lady of the Angels fire survivors share their stories 60 years later?
• Our Lady of the Angels School fire!
• Staatsverschuldung im Hinblick auf die Chronologie verschiedener Denkrichtungen (German Edition).
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• We Are For Texas: Wee, Wicked Whispers: Collected Short Stories 2007 - 2008;
• Weiblichkeit und Schuldbegriff im bürgerlichen Trauerspiel des 18. Jhs. (German Edition).

This DVD includes interviews with parents, children who survived, and men who fought or reported on the fire. It also looks at how it happened, how it might have been prevented, and what was done to make sure it would never happen again. This is a worldwide look at the most disastrous fires throughout the centuries, starting with the Great Fire of Rome, July 18, 64 AD through the Bush Fires of Indonesia, The Our Lady of the Angels School fire is featured on pages 61 and Fire in America by Paul R. This volume discusses major fires in America, including the Our Lady of the Angels fire on page This text provides fundamental information regarding the history and philosophy of fire prevention from an organization and operation perspective.

Information about the Our Lady of the Angels fire is on pages This book examines the disastrous fire of December 1, of Our Lady of the Angels School and Church that took the lives of 92 children and 3 nuns.

Our Lady of the Angels School Fire: Introduction

Written by a survivor, this book takes a look at the tragedy and its emotional aftermath. This book discusses the great fires of Chicago, including the Our Lady of the Angels Fire on pages This book outlines stories from firefighters that people may not have heard, including those from the Our Lady of the Angels fire pages This is volume fourof a four volume series of books chronicling the history of Chicago Fire Houses from Photos of the Our Lady of Angels fire, as well as a list of the firefighters present, is located on pages Remembrances of the Angels: Children, parents, firemen, reporters, clergy, nurses, policemen, school officials and others share their thoughts and feelings about their experience of the Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago in December To Sleep with the Angels: This book discusses the fire at Our Lady of the Angels Elementary School, which took the lives of 92 children and 3 nuns and prompted nationwide fire safety reform in American schools.

It discusses the building's construction in detail as well and identifies several contributing factors. The article is scanned from the original; as of May , some of the pages are out of order.

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• Chicago : le River North (French Edition);
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