The Hartford Circus Fire of 1944

                

              The Hartford Circus Fire of 1944 was a horrific incident.  A number of precautionary measures could have been taken to avoid this fire.  The tent and everything around it was very vulnerable to a fire.  First of all, the tent being used was a canvas tent, which is highly flammable.  Also, the organizers of the circus decided to try a new method of fire repellent.  This new method of fire repellent was a mixture of four parts Texaco White Gasoline and one part Standard Oil Company Paraffin Wax.  This method was applied to the new roof of the circus and not the highly flammable canvas sidewalls.  Therefore, whenever the sidewalls caught fire there was no stopping the fire and the gasoline in the mixture helped it spread quicker.  Due to the high flammable canvas structure and the poor use of a fire repellent, the area was very vulnerable to the huge fire that took place.  There was basically no preparedness for this event and no help was close.

                The disaster that took place at Hartford in 1944 was a huge tent fire.  The steel seating was the only thing that remained, but much of those collapsed.  The canvas tent was completely burnt to the ground as the fire spread quickly and panic ensued.  Many people reported people getting trampled as hundreds of people quickly rushed to be free of the flames.  It is reported that at least 168 people died and about 484 others were injured.  This awful incident had many young children’s lives lost and reports of children screaming for their parents as they were engulfed by flames ensued.  At first, the cause of the fire was deemed to be somebody dropping a lighter or cigar on the side of the canvas.  2 years after the fire, a man named Robert Segree, who was an admitted arsonist, stated he started the fire.  He then told people in his late life that he lied about it and it actually was not him that started the fire.  The actual beginning is still not certain. 

                The post disaster efforts of this was the grieving and helping of the families who were lost or lost people in this fire.  Also, other circuses across the country were required to check their tents and better non-flammable items were beginning to get discovered.  Also, new techniques to ensure this does not happen again were put into place, like making sure there are proper exits and not just a bum-rush to get out.  The technology at this time just was not there to keep everything from not catching on fire.  This fire cost a large circus its entire facility and killed about 168 people.  The worst part is the amount of children that were killed.  The people just thought they were going to an enjoyable circus and then, they were no more.  This awful disaster could have been avoided if it were for some basic safety precautions.

Sources:

http://www.circusfire1944.com/cause-and-origin-study.html

http://www.hartfordhistory.net/circusfire.html

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-hartford-circus-fire