As soon as the big top of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey circus went up in flames on July 6th, 1944, nothing was ever the same that summer in Hartford, Connecticut. At 2:45 pm, Eastern Time, the nearest hospital had received a phone call from the police. Municipal Hospital then sent out an ambulance at the request of the police officers to the grounds on which the circus was being held. With only a bed capacity of one hundred and seventy-five on the day of the fire, Municipal Hospital, as the closest hospital near the circus had to admit one hundred and forty-three patients who fell victim to the fire. When fire victims began to pour into Municipal Hospital, they were almost immediately injected with morphine for their pain (Weld and Burke).
Gauze with petroleum jelly on it was applied to all areas of victims who had suffered burns on their skin. While receiving care, the victims were also tested for tetanus. During the first fourteen hours after being admitted, the victims were given sulfonamides, which were given orally and in a liquid or fluid form. The Hartford Hospital initially received around forty patients, and later eighteen more had transferred from Municipal Hospital (Weld and Burke).
Soon after the initial fire, an investigation into what happened that day also occurred. Mayor Mortensen of Hartford developed a special inquiry into investigating the fire where he had appointed five other men to investigate. James F. Kennedy, the Police Court Prosecutor, declared on July 7th, 1944 that his individual investigation into the fire had great findings. He discovered that the canvas tent used by the circus was waterproofed by three to four parts of gasoline. The tent was also coated in one-part paraffin. Mortensen also determined that a waist high ramp used by the circus’ animals also had cut off and blocked exits to get out of the main tent during the fire. Around sixty bodies were discovered forced up against this ramp (The Hartford Courant, 7/7/44).
During the first day after the fire, the State Armory emergency center received around ten-thousand phone calls. The investigation into the fire also found that the circus performance, a day before the fire, had to be cancelled due to the fact that the tent was six hours late to Hartford, as it was being transported from Providence, Rhode Island. Another interesting fact to out of the investigation, was that circus’ bandleader, a mister Merle Evans, began playing Star and Stripes Forever. This was basically a clandestine way to signal to the circus employees that there was an emergency situation happening (The Hartford Courant, 7/7/44).
Gauze with petroleum jelly on it was applied to all areas of victims who had suffered burns on their skin. While receiving care, the victims were also tested for tetanus. During the first fourteen hours after being admitted, the victims were given sulfonamides, which were given orally and in a liquid or fluid form. The Hartford Hospital initially received around forty patients, and later eighteen more had transferred from Municipal Hospital (Weld and Burke).
Soon after the initial fire, an investigation into what happened that day also occurred. Mayor Mortensen of Hartford developed a special inquiry into investigating the fire where he had appointed five other men to investigate. James F. Kennedy, the Police Court Prosecutor, declared on July 7th, 1944 that his individual investigation into the fire had great findings. He discovered that the canvas tent used by the circus was waterproofed by three to four parts of gasoline. The tent was also coated in one-part paraffin. Mortensen also determined that a waist high ramp used by the circus’ animals also had cut off and blocked exits to get out of the main tent during the fire. Around sixty bodies were discovered forced up against this ramp (The Hartford Courant, 7/7/44).
During the first day after the fire, the State Armory emergency center received around ten-thousand phone calls. The investigation into the fire also found that the circus performance, a day before the fire, had to be cancelled due to the fact that the tent was six hours late to Hartford, as it was being transported from Providence, Rhode Island. Another interesting fact to out of the investigation, was that circus’ bandleader, a mister Merle Evans, began playing Star and Stripes Forever. This was basically a clandestine way to signal to the circus employees that there was an emergency situation happening (The Hartford Courant, 7/7/44).
This image is of the aftermath of the Hartford Circus Fire and is a primary source image as it was created around the time of the incident. It is an image of the charred remains of the big top after the fire occurred. This was from a news story by the Illustrated Current News regarding the tragedy and loss of life caused by the fire. The headline basically says it all regarding the fire, “159 KILLED WHEN FIRE DESTROYS CIRCUS TENT.” This incident was a very tragic one as the description beneath the headline tells us that eighty-eight children were killed. People were either burned or were trampled to death trying to escape the tent of the big top.
When people began suspecting that the big top of the circus was up in flames they panicked and did everything they could to get out escaped. The description beneath the picture claims that many people were “…trampled to death as flames consumed the 520-ft. long canvas tent.” Many of these people who were trampled had to be young children as they were shorter and younger. The image of that is morbid, to say the least. These children trying to escape the big top with the rest of the circus patrons most likely barely stood a chance of escape if they had been separated from their parents. And due to the panic the fire caused, this tragic thought of many of the children being separated from their parents, and of families, and then trampled to death is an all too likely one.
This image is of the aftermath of the Hartford Circus Fire and is a primary source image as it was created around the time of the incident. It is an image of the charred remains of the big top after the fire occurred. This was from a news story by the Illustrated Current News regarding the tragedy and loss of life caused by the fire. The headline basically says it all regarding the fire, “159 KILLED WHEN FIRE DESTROYS CIRCUS TENT.” This incident was a very tragic one as the description beneath the headline tells us that eighty-eight children were killed. People were either burned or were trampled to death trying to escape the tent of the big top.
When people began suspecting that the big top of the circus was up in flames they panicked and did everything they could to get out escaped. The description beneath the picture claims that many people were “…trampled to death as flames consumed the 520-ft. long canvas tent.” Many of these people who were trampled had to be young children as they were shorter and younger. The image of that is morbid, to say the least. These children trying to escape the big top with the rest of the circus patrons most likely barely stood a chance of escape if they had been separated from their parents. And due to the panic the fire caused, this tragic thought of many of the children being separated from their parents, and of families, and then trampled to death is an all too likely one.
