1958 Our Lady of the Angels School Fire broke out shortly before classes were to be dismissed on December 1, 1958, at the foot of a stairway in the Our Lady of the Angels school in Chicago. 92 pupils and 3 nuns at this Roman Catholic grade school lost their lives when smoke, heat, and fire cut off their normal means of escape through open stairways and corridors. Another 77 were seriously injured.
As a result of the tragedy, ordinances to strengthen Chicago's fire code and new amendments to the State fire code were passed. Also, the National Fire Protection Association estimated that hundreds of schools across the nation were safer because, according to a NFPA survey, about 68% of all U.S. communities inaugurated and completed fire safety projects after the Our Lady of the Angels fire.
Here's how the fire progressed:
