Our Lady of Angels School Fire

The fire that swept through Our Lady of Angels Catholic School on December 1 1958 was a tragic event that forever changed the way schools around the country were built and maintained. The tragic events of that December day burned horrible memories in the minds of the children involved and totured the teachers and staff of the school. Several books and articles have been written regarding this fire and there are numerous sites that publish and share information on this fire. The fire claimed the lives of 92 children and 3 of the nuns. No fire alarms or sprinklers were present, no quick escape doors, no smoke detectors, fire extinguishers were mounted 7 feet off the floor, the gates of the courtyard remained locked during school hours, and only one fire escape (to name a few contributing factors). There was 1600 children packed into rooms designed to hold far less. The photo above is an over head picture gleaned from the linked website in the links section that shows the extent of the fire.