Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:
Saturday marked 60 years since 92 students and three nuns were killed in a fire at the Our Lady of the Angels school on Chicago’s West Side when a fire broke out in the basement of the school shortly before classes were dismissed for the day.
The victims were remembered at church services and other memorials across the city. Although much time has passed since 1958, the memories and the pain are still fresh. Each year, family members of those who lost their lives, along with survivors come together at Holy Family Church to remember and honor the victims.
Survivor Serge Uccetta was only 12 years old and a student at Our Lady of Angels at the time, but he was one of the lucky ones. The building was a firetrap. As the flames and smoke spread, the second floor corridor became impassable, leaving the windows – 25 feet above the ground – as the only possible escape.
Many survivors keep the experience to themselves, still too painful to share all these years later.
