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The Fire That Will Not Die
A very moving and terrifying account by a survivor of the 1958 Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago which killed 92 children and three Roman Catholic nuns. It's an inspiring story of courage and recovery.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
246 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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March 31, 2026A vivid account of one survivor’s experiences during and after Chicago’s horrific Dec. 1, 1959, Our Lady of the Angels fire which claimed the lives of 93 students and 3 nuns. I first remember hearing about this fire from my 5th-grade teacher around 1970; I believe she was somehow involved in the fire.
Michele McBride opens with chapters that provide a horrifying, heart-breaking account of what it was like to be in one of the rooms that the fire swept through and from which students were not able to escape except by jumping out windows 25 feet from the ground. Even when firetrucks belatedly arrived, their ladders were not long enough to reach the windows.
She closes with a chapter about why the terrible death toll was avoidable. This is so tragic. McBride wrote her book in 1979. For an even more detailed account of the causes of the fire (including a pretty persuasive theory that the fire was purposefully started) see the 1996 book To Sleep with the Angels, which also provides more specifics about what was happening elsewhere in the building during the fire.
The majority of McBride’s book is her personal story about the months she spent in the hospital and what her life was like afterward, the short- and long-term physical, psychological, and emotional toll that being burned so horribly had on her.
The book can feel a bit repetitive at times, but perhaps this is because she had to keep re-experiencing the fire and its effects on her for the rest of her life. The title of the book, The Fire that Will Not Die in part refers to the idea that for a burn victim (or one of “ God’s toasted people”, as she sometimes calls them), the ramifications of a fire never completely go away. “Burns”, she writes, “are in the past, present, and future.”
Michele McBride died in 2001 at the age of 56, due to multiple organ failure caused all those years later by the terrible toll the fire took on her skin, the body’s largest organ.
She left behind a powerful memoir in which she does not sugar-coat her feelings, nor wrap things up in an artificially positive (or negative) way. Instead she shows all sides – fears, pain, anger, grief, doubts, progress, and hopes, offering a generous insight into what her life (and presumably the lives of other injured survivor of this fire and others) was like.
Michele McBride opens with chapters that provide a horrifying, heart-breaking account of what it was like to be in one of the rooms that the fire swept through and from which students were not able to escape except by jumping out windows 25 feet from the ground. Even when firetrucks belatedly arrived, their ladders were not long enough to reach the windows.
She closes with a chapter about why the terrible death toll was avoidable. This is so tragic. McBride wrote her book in 1979. For an even more detailed account of the causes of the fire (including a pretty persuasive theory that the fire was purposefully started) see the 1996 book To Sleep with the Angels, which also provides more specifics about what was happening elsewhere in the building during the fire.
The majority of McBride’s book is her personal story about the months she spent in the hospital and what her life was like afterward, the short- and long-term physical, psychological, and emotional toll that being burned so horribly had on her.
The book can feel a bit repetitive at times, but perhaps this is because she had to keep re-experiencing the fire and its effects on her for the rest of her life. The title of the book, The Fire that Will Not Die in part refers to the idea that for a burn victim (or one of “ God’s toasted people”, as she sometimes calls them), the ramifications of a fire never completely go away. “Burns”, she writes, “are in the past, present, and future.”
Michele McBride died in 2001 at the age of 56, due to multiple organ failure caused all those years later by the terrible toll the fire took on her skin, the body’s largest organ.
She left behind a powerful memoir in which she does not sugar-coat her feelings, nor wrap things up in an artificially positive (or negative) way. Instead she shows all sides – fears, pain, anger, grief, doubts, progress, and hopes, offering a generous insight into what her life (and presumably the lives of other injured survivor of this fire and others) was like.
January 26, 2015
The Fire That Will Not Die is Michele McBride’s personal memoir of the tragic event with changed her life, her recovery and her struggles for years afterwards to come to terms with the event. Ms. McBride was one of survivors of the 1958 Our Lady of the Angels School Fire in Chicago, Illinois. Severely burned before she leaped from her burning school, Ms. McBride endured months of hospital treatment before returning home during a time when disaster victims – but especially the survivors of the OLA School Fire – were encouraged to ‘endure’ and ‘ not mourn’. This was an era before grief counselors and mainstream support for disaster victims complicated by a firm belief in the sanctity of the Roman Catholic Church. This book, written twenty years after the fire in question, tells Ms. McBride’s story from the fire through her physical recovery and through to her eventual emotional/mental recovery years later. It is a moving account of the fire and its aftermath in the story of one person.
I read the original 1979 edition of this book; however, Ms. McBride died in 2001 and the book’s publisher has reissued this book in response to multiple requests and now includes her obituary at the end of the volume.
I read the original 1979 edition of this book; however, Ms. McBride died in 2001 and the book’s publisher has reissued this book in response to multiple requests and now includes her obituary at the end of the volume.
December 7, 2018
I would highly recommend this book if you are into learning about historical events. This book by Michelle McBride was very touching and informational, as she was a victim of a horrible tragedy of the Our Lady of Angels School and Church fire, in Chicago IL. One quote that really stood out to me was "During Religion class that morning our teacher made mention that Helen and I one boy were the only three who went to Mass the first day of Advent Season". (6-7) This surprised me because you never know what will happen within a few hours. That very day, after being good to God and attending Mass, a fire strikes out killing 95 people. This quote just shows to always be grateful for what you have and to do everything you can to make the most out of your day.
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April 9, 2023It is hard to rate this book. Learning about my grandfathers childhood is an eye-opening experience.
September 6, 2023
Tragic story, but realistic memoir of a burn.
December 30, 2008
read this book years ago when i was like in 4th grade my grandma ordered the book and we had a couple issues in hardcover.
Since my aunt and dad went to the school at the time they knew many of the children who passed away.
Since my aunt and dad went to the school at the time they knew many of the children who passed away.
March 14, 2009
A story that deserves to be heard. This should never have happened.
April 18, 2016
This is a first person account of a burn victim who was injured in the Our Lady of the Angels Fire in Chicago.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews