What happened at the Our Lady of the Angels school, Chicago?

On 1 December 1958 a fire broke out at the Our Lady of the Angels school in Chicago, Illinois. The school was a two storey building constructed in 1910 for the purpose of schooling 1,600 students.

The outer building skin was brick and block while the interior construction comprised mainly timber and combustible materials. Over the years the building had been added to and did comply with the fire safety laws of the day.

The school however was underprotected; there was only one fire escape, no water sprinkler system, no detection or alarm system and no fire resistive construction material for compartmentation.

The fire tragically claimed the lives of 92 children and three teachers.

How did the Our Lady of the Angels school fire start?

The source of ignition is unknown however the fire is known to have broken out in the basement in a cardboard trash barrel which went undetected for up to 30 minutes. This allowed hot gases and smoke to radiate down, overcoming the staircase and rendering escape impossible. As a consequence some people opted to jump from the second floor windows.

What can the industry learn from the Our Lady of the Angels school fire?

Investigation into the incident confirmed that the school passed a fire department safety inspection only weeks before the fire.

The school did not have to comply with all fire safety guidelines due to a grandfathering clause in the 1949 standards. All existing schools were not required to retrofit the safety devices that were now required in newly constructed schools.

The tragedy ultimately changed school fire safety regulations nationwide, making it mandatory for fire safety measures to be retrofitted.