“Death of the Angels” tells the tale of one of Chicago’s most tragic events–the fire that took the lives of so many children at the Our Lady of the Angels school in 1958. Those that have been touched by this tragedy were altered forever. Former reporter (WGN, WLS) Alex Burkholder had been interviewing people that were there that day for the past several decades. He finally put this all together into a book form, which was officially released on the 60th anniversary of the fire. This Q&A took place on this day in 2018.
EP: Alex, you have a long and distinguished journalism background. Where and when did you work in Chicago?
Alex: Born and raised in Chicago. In 1962 while still at Northwestern University worked for Lerner Newspapers (Skokie Life) covering various village board meetings. 1963 to WGN Radio and TV. 1984 moved to ABC7 with John Drury. Retired in 2008 after a total of 46 years.
EP: You’ve obviously taken that journalistic approach to this book. What was it about this fire that initially captured your imagination?
Alex: Just hearing the terrible stories that day as a high school senior and fire buff I wanted to know more about the tragedy and curiosity increased over the years.
EP: A lot of the interviews were conducted many years ago. How long have you been working on this project?
Alex: There was a great deal accomplished with the interviews done in the 1970s. I’ve collected more information over the ensuing years and decided in the summer of 2017 that it was time to give the public a fresh look at something that never should have happened.
EP: Is there anyone involved in the fire that you wish you could have interviewed but didn’t?
Alex: Two people: 18th Battalion Chief Miles Devine for more information about his first minutes on the scene of the fire, and Family Court Judge Alfred Cilella, who in 1962 ignored evidence the fire might have been set. Cilella died of a heart attack in 1964.
EP: The book does a great job of painting a picture of what happened that day–complete with room maps, photographs, and interviews with survivors. Did you have a hard time tracking all of this information down?
Alex: No, there was a lot of information out there including new revelations from those interviews and excellent photos from the newspapers and the Chicago Fire Department.
EP: What do you think is the lesson to learn from this tragic event?
Alex: Don’t ignore fire hazards, correct them immediately. If fire doors had been placed on the east end of the school’s second-floor hallway we would not be doing this today.
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