Sleeping+with+the+angels

The our lady of angels fire was one of the most tragic fires in United states history. The fire took place on December 1, 1958 at our lady of the angels catholic school in Chicago. Many factors contributed to the fire from the poor upkeep of fire codes to the lack of safety equipment that was available at the time.

__**Contributing Factors**__
The school fell under the[| grandfather clause] which allowed the school to operate even though it did not meet the current fire codes at that time. The building was made from ordinary construction with highly flammable ceiling tiles and wood staircase partially closed off with one fire door at the bottom. Plus only eight Soda-acid fire extinguishers in the whole building. In addition the floors where waxed with a petroleum based wax.

__**Events of the Fire**__
Sometime in the afternoon what started as small waste basket fire at the bottom of the basement stairs in the northwing. Quickly spread through the basement. The fire door to the rest of the building didn't last long and soon the whole building was consumed in flames. Many children tried to escape but became trapped in the flames on the stairwells. In some classrooms the nuns told the kids to sit and pray hoping it would calm them.Due to lack of safety equipment for firefighters they could not enter the building because of the heat. The best the could do was carry children one at a time down their ladders and try to put out the fire as best they could.

__**Aftermath**__ In the aftermath of the fire the community was left devastated a total of ninety-two students and three nuns died in the blaze