Hartford Circus Fire

On the afternoon of July 6, 1944, approximately 8,000 people gathered in the north end of Hartford, Connecticut to enjoy a performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. High in the tent, the Flying Wallendas were preparing to start the third act of the show when suddenly, a fire erupted on the sidewall of the canvas big top. Employees rushed to douse the flames with buckets of water but the fire quickly intensified and drove them back. The fire climbed the wall and started to sweep across the roof of the tent with unimaginable speed.


Notice the proximity of the elephants to the burning tent on the right side of this photograph taken probably from Hampton Street. Incredibly, no animals died in the fire.

The flames spread so rapidly that at first, the audience didn't react to what was happening. Once the audience realized the danger of the situation a panic ensued. In an attempt to clear the way, chairs were tossed from the grandstand into the ring. Once people reached the bottom they stumbled on them. Steel railings along the front of the bleachers impeded the way and some jumped from high atop the stands trying to flee the danger.

Spectators stampeded towards the exit from which the entered. This unfortunately was the end of the tent that was on fire. Employees tried to direct people to other exits but people still rushed towards the fire. Many were trampled to death in the maddening rush to escape.

Animal chutes across the main exit blocked the egress and people tried desperately to clamber over. The ringmaster Fred Bradna helped several children over the chutes saving them. Patrons climbed onto the chutes and aided others to safety. Still, many victims lost their lives here.

Some people escaped by slipping under the tent's sidewalls. A thirteen year-old is attributed with being the first to use a knife to slice through the sidewall, saving hundreds. Others soon began to cut through the canvas to escape.


	Two photographs from the same perspective illustrating how the fire swept across the big top that afternoon.

Members of the circus and audience alike stayed and attempted to help other escape. Some who had reached safety returned to inside the flaming tent to try bring others out, and did. Unfortunately a few individuals resorted to pushing and striking others in an attempt to move through the mob and to safety.

Sections of flaming canvas began to fall and cover the fleeing crowd. Ropes began to burn through and the rigging of the tent started to fail. The main poles started to topple and with it came the canvas big top, in a thunderous, flaming roar. Most of those still trapped inside died. Miraculously, a few people who became buried under the pile of those who were trampled managed to survive the collapse and were rescued.

Within ten minutes, the entire tent was reduced to a heap of burning ruin on the ground. Some witnesses claim that it was all over in as little as six minutes. The first fire truck arrived to find the tent gone. The fire would claim 168 victims and injure several hundred more. Many of the victims were children. Six of the victims that day would remain unidentified.


Support poles and rigging for the big top and sections of bleachers lay destroyed on the ground.

In the immediate and distant aftermath, many questions would abound with the foremost being "what happened"?

State officials immediately began an investigation. No one could provide an eyewitness account as to how the conflagration started but many theories flourished. The prospect of arson was explored, especially by disgruntled workers. Children playing with matches was considered, and there was speculation that a short-circuit could have sparked the fire.

A carelessly discarded cigarette would be officially ruled to have started the blaze. Witnesses placed the fire starting too high on the sidewall for this to be a likely explanation, and future scientific evidence concerning the ignition capabilities of a cigarette would make the theory implausible.

Then in 1950, a Ohio man named Robert Segee who had worked for the circus confessed to setting the fire that day, along with several others during his short employment with the circus. He claimed that an Indian on a "flaming horse" appeared in his dreams and instructed him to set fires. He was never tried for the Hartford Circus Fire although he was convicted for arson in another case. He also admitted to committing several homicides over the years but later recanted on setting the fire in Hartford that terrible day.

His involvement certainly seems questionable as he has a history of mental illness, Additionally, it could never be proven that he was even in Connecticut the day of the fire. To this day, the theories of how the fire actually started still abound.

While the cause of the fire is still open to some supposition, why the fire spread so fast is less of a mystery. With materials in short supply because of the War, the canvas had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin wax thinned by gasoline; a flammable mixture to say the least. Some workers said that the tent had not been waterproofed for sometime, but the ferocity in which the fire spread led some to believe that was not the case. Robert Ringling would later testify that he was unable to procure fire-resistant materials because of war shortages, although this is assertion has also been contested.


	Circus clown Emmett Kelly carrying water to douse the flames. The tragedy would later become to be known as "the day the clowns cried."

The investigation revealed that no site inspection had been made by the city fire marshal prior to the performance and fire protection equipment was not properly in place. A fire department pumper was not stationed at the grounds as it should have been, although many said the fire department would not have been unable to stop the fire even if they had. When the fire department did arrive, they had to lay over 1,000 feet of hose because there was no hydrant on the grounds which didn't help matters.

The circus' water trucks were supposed to be located near the big top with their engines running during the show in case of such an emergency. Again, there are contradictions as to if they were there or not. Not in contradiction was the absence of the many fire extinguishers which were supposed to be positioned under the bleachers. These were not unloaded from the train because the War had also left the circus very short-handed. Complaints filed in the aftermath would also state that there was inadequate circus personnel for fire protection.

In the wake of the disaster, six officials and employees of the circus were charged with manslaughter citing that they had not taken proper precautions to sufficiently protect the public, and exacerbated the situation by using the flammable substances and obstructing exits. All were convicted and given jail time. The defense tried to argue that these men were indispensable and were needed if the circus was to function and be able to earn money to pay damages. The judge did allow them to temporarily leave with the circus to get it back on the road, but all but one was forced to serve time. The fellow in question testified that he was not indispensable and the judge, impressed with his honesty, suspended his sentence.

An arbitration agreement was reached where the circus accepted full responsibility and allowed an arbitration board to decide the damages. The circus would then pay a receiver out of their profits and the money would be dispersed to the victims. It took the circus over a decade and between four and five million dollars to pay the claims which numbered in excess of 600.

The circus did not contest the settlement and made every effort to fulfill their obligation. Because the circus acted with such integrity, the remaining circus officials were pardoned in less than a year.

Many articles, books and programs have been produced through the years regarding the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944. A recent book written about the reinvestigation of the event draws many conclusions based on the evidence from the new investigation, including the identity of one of the children who died that day long ago and remained known only as "Little Miss 1565". Still, as has been the case throughout the history of this tragic event, not everyone can agree.

There is no disagreement however that the catastrophe had a long-lived effect on the Hartford area. The city went about burying the dead and services and funerals were being held constantly. Little Miss 1565 went unclaimed and was buried with the other unclaimed victims in a Hartford cemetery. For years, detectives from the case would place flowers on her grave on the anniversary of the fire. Everyone seemed to know at least one person who was at the performance that day.

Fire ordinances were changed because of the tragedy. To this day, the State has very restrictive fire protection regulations regarding mass gatherings under tents.


	The plaza marks where the center ring stood that day.		The bronze medallion is adorned with the names of the 168 victims.

	Bricks in the walkway in remembrance of Fire Company Member Frank Bradley who died in the fire.

In 2002 the Hartford Circus Fire Memorial Foundation was established for the purpose of designing and installing a permanent memorial in remembrance of the 168 men, women and children who lost their lives at the circus on July 6, 1944. Sixty-one years later behind the Fred D. Wish Elementary school in the field where the tragedy unfolded, a memorial was dedicated.

The centerpiece of the memorial is a circular brick and stone plaza that indicates the location of the center ring. The bronze medallion in the center marks the location of the big top's center pole, and is adorned with the names of the 168 victims. Trees around the periphery denote the entrances to the tent.