List of victims of the Our Lady of the Angels school fire

This is a list of the 95 people killed in the Our Lady of the Angels School fire and the scores more who were injured.

Contents

Killed

All of the deceased victims occupied a set of classrooms on the second floor of the school's north wing. All of the deceased victims resided in Chicago.

Room 208

Room 208, a room located in the northeast corner of the north wing housing Sister Mary St. Canice Lyng's 7th Grade Class, had twelve student deaths out of thirty-seven students. Sister Mary St. Canice also died. Several ladders were placed near Room 208's windows. Of them, the ladder placed by Mario Camerini, a janitor, successfully reached Room 208's windows and allowed several students, including all of the remaining boys, to escape.[1] The three deceased boys died while at their desks due to a spurt of heated gases. The conditions of 208 and the three dead boys are depicted in a black-and-white illustration by a Life magazine artist.[2]

Room 209

Room 209, a room housing Sister Mary Davidis Devine's 8th grade class, had two student deaths. Of all of the students, one, Beverly Burda, died in the classroom, while the second, Valerie Thoma, died in a hospital three months later. The survivors credit Devine's decision to stack books at the door to slow entry of the smoke and an awning that provided an easier jump for their survival. Sam Tortorice, a parent of Room 209 student Rose Tortorice, climbed on the awning to assist the escapes of the Room 209 students. Father Joseph Ognibene joined Tortorice and rescued students.[4] Devine, mistakenly under the impression that all of the students were rescued from the room, agreed to be rescued. By the time Devine and the rescue crews noticed Burda lying in the classroom, conditions made her rescue impossible, and she was killed when the roof collapsed.[5] Devine died on October 14, 2006, at the age of 100.[6]

Room 210

Room 210, housing Sister Mary Seraphica Kelley's 4th grade class, had 28 student deaths out of the 57 students inside at the time of the fire, the most deaths of any of the classrooms. Kelley also died, making a total of 29 deaths in Room 210. The smaller and weaker bodies of the fourth graders contributed to the high death toll, as many of the children were unable to scale the window ledge. The fire entered the room at a quicker rate since two boys attempted to open the door to the room. Upon discovery of the fire, the flames forced the boys away from the door, preventing closure of the door and allowing the fire to attack the children.[8]

Room 211

Room 211, housing Sister Mary Helaine O'Neill's 8th grade class, had 24 deaths out of the 48 students inside at the time of the fire. Normally 63 students occupied the room; at the time, 13 boys helped with a clothing drive at the church and 2 male students stayed away from the school due to illness. The existence of a picket fence blocked firefighters and hampered the rescue of the middle schoolers in 211. The firefighters could not save all of the students before the room flashed over, killing the remaining students. Sister Mary Helaine O'Neill, the teacher, was severely burned and spent several weeks in the hospital. She died on September 27, 1975.

Room 212

Room 212, housing Sister Mary Clare Therese Champagne's 5th grade class, had 26 deaths out of the 55 students. The deaths all were due to smoke inhalation. Sister Mary Clare Therese also died.

Injured

Room 104

Room 202

Room 203

Room 207

Room 208

Room 209

Room 210

Room 211

Room 212

References

  1. ^ A listing of survivors of the Our Lady of the Angels Fire Archived 11 January 2011 at WebCite
  2. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Images/Gallery/LifeDrawing1.jpg Archived 11 January 2011 at WebCite
  3. ^ http://www.olafire.com/VictimGallery.asp?Room=208
  4. ^ A listing of survivors of the Our Lady of the Angels Fire Archived 11 January 2011 at WebCite
  5. ^ OLAFire.com FAQ for Our Lady of the Angels School Fire, Chicago, Illinois, December 1, 1958 Archived 11 January 2011 at WebCite
  6. ^ People involved with Our Lady of the Angels School Fire December 1 1958 Chicago Illinois Archived 11 January 2011 at WebCite
  7. ^ http://www.olafire.com/VictimGallery.asp?Room=209
  8. ^ Our Lady of the Angels Chicago School Fire Photo gallery - December 1, 1958 Archived 11 January 2011 at WebCite
  9. ^ http://www.olafire.com/VictimGallery.asp?Room=210
  10. ^ http://www.olafire.com/VictimGallery.asp?Room=211
  11. ^ http://www.olafire.com/VictimGallery.asp?Room=212
  12. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp
  13. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp
  14. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp
  15. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp
  16. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp
  17. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp
  18. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp
  19. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp
  20. ^ http://www.olafire.com/Survivors.asp