21 students at The Institute of the Immaculate Conception - 1884

A watchman discovered fire at the boarding school for girls and young women. He tried to wake the nuns who were in charge of the boarding school but they believed him to be a drunken man and refused to open the gates. It delayed the rescue work and other delays was caused by closed doors and poor ideas about escape routes.

In the end 26 people died - 21 were students and one even came from as far away as Germany.

The boarding school was rebuilt but it never became the same capacity in the local society as it was before the fire.

May all who died back then continue to rest in peace.


Sources:

• 26 died in 1884 Belleville boarding school fire (Belleville News Democrat)
• onvent of the Immaculate Conception (Genealogy Trails)

William O'Connell, Normand Poulin, Roger Poulin - 1938

All 3 teenagers attended a boarding school in Canada. When a fire broke out the building unequipped as a modern Russian rehab facility proved to be a fire trap. These poor teenagers died then the roof collapsed together with a lot of local teenagers from Canada. It remains unclear whether their remains were identified to they could be returned to their families.

Everything was wrong with the building. There were not enough exits. There was no sprinkler system. To make matters worse the firemen who arrived at the school found the doors bolted so they could not enter in time to put the fire out from within. Last but not least most of the building was made of wood.

All these 3 teenagers did was to pursue an education. The price became too high and ended in tragedy.

May they find peace where they are now.



Sources:

• Exact Number Who Died In Fire At Boarding Unknown (The Evening Independent - Jan 19, 1938)
• Sacred Heart College, St. Hyacinthe, Que., Jan. 18, 1938, 46 Killed (Genealogy Today)

Peter A. Cooper - 1979

Back in 1979 a fire raided a boarding school up in Connecticut. The old wooden buildings which were properly from 1934 burned quickly and not all students made it out. Some were caught on the second-floor near a window and two of the students - Peter Cooper and Jonathan S. Lenoff - died while a third student suffered terrible burns.

A small memorial plate was set up so the death students could be remembered. For some reason it disappeared sometime after year 2000.

Of course something can be blamed on the building code which allowed a level of safety which turned out to be deadly but regardless of the reason for their death they should not be forgotten.

They lost their lives before they could outlive the potential they were sent to the school to find. Please restore the memorial!


References:

• Two students die in Madison blaze (The Morning Record and Journal - April 24 1979)
• 2 students killed in boys school fire (The New York Times)