This Documentary narrated the tragedy of the Our Lady of Angels School. On December 1st, 1958, at the end of the day, as students waited for the final bell, a fire raged unnoticed in the northeast stairwell. By the time they became aware of it, the fire has rampaged the second floor. Trapped students were propelled to make the painful decision between jumping out of the window and remaining inside the raging inferno. Firefighters and other rescuers soon arrived, but they weren't able to save all; ninety-two students and three nuns lost their lives.As a result, the community started seeking scapegoats. People first blamed the janitor for setting the fire, when no evidence was found; they blamed the nuns, who encouraged the students to say rosary rather t ...view middle of the document...
The school was afraid that if the boy were found guilty, people would accuse the school for accepting such a criminal child and not keeping an eye on him.When investigation on this incident ended, the National Fire Protection Association commented that there were no new lessons to be learned, only old lessons that tragically went unheeded. This tragedy did, however, did propel many ill-equipped schools to improve their condition. Monthly fire drills became a fact of life for Chicago schoolchildren. Many schools were fitted with sprinklers, and all schools were given fire alarms directly connected to the fire department.I think this film is very well made, because the story is told through the recollections of those who survived it, those who fought it and those who reported on it. I was able to experience the emotional trauma this tragedy has brought upon the victims and the victims' family members more personally. The fire has inflicted its victims tremendously, but at the same time bestowed them courage and determination to survive. I was shocked, however, to learn that after the tragedy, the victims did not receive much support from the community, they were expected to be brave and quiet on their own.This film was associated with us not only because it happened within our periphery, but also because its impact on safety requirements of our schools. Students are much more familiar with fire drill procedures than in the past and each school is sufficiently equipped to cope disastrous fire. Nevertheless, students should take fire alarms more seriously; some students pull the alarms simply as means to skip a test or so, I hope they will realize the true value of these equipments.
