Tragedy that begat major reforms
On Dec. 1, 1958 Our Lady of Angels school in Chicago burned down in a tragic fire that cost 92 young students and 5 nuns their lives.
The school was an old building that was poorly designed for safety. It was built mostly of wood. Most of the finishing materials were highly combustible. In short, it was a disaster just waiting to happen.
And it did. In a horrific scene students and teachers were caught in an inferno basically waiting to die. This fire had the same effect on America as yesterday's tragedy did. The loss of innocent children is always hard.
On a personal note, my aunt - Sister Mary Ethel, had just finished her day's teaching and was at the convent when the fire broke out. To say the least she was affected by the fire for the rest of her life.
But my purpose in writing this is to tell people what came out of the fire. That was a sudden and fervent interest that it never happen again. There was a huge push across the country to get rid of firetrap public buildings and replace them with safe fire safe buildings with escape plans and sprinkler systems.
Tragedies can be the spark that spurs the action that had been missing. Hopefully this tragedy will force America to face up to an insane gun culture. This must be the legacy of Sandy Hook School.
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