Where this source supports the record
Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.
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Fires · 1 December 1958Open article references →
The Our Lady of the Angels School Fire
Our Lady of the Angels School site · United States
Why editors use it hereReferenced overview of building conditions, fire spread, rescue, victims, investigation, and code reforms.
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Quick read
Shortly before dismissal on 1 December 1958, a basement fire spread into an open stairwell at Our Lady of the Angels parochial school in Chicago.
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Trigger and conditions
Fire began in or near a basement stairwell and smoldered undetected before hot gases moved upward.
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Uncertainty
Investigators located the origin but did not establish whether ignition was accidental or deliberate.
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Why it matters
The school technically complied and was still catastrophically unsafe.
Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Quick read