Public Ceremony to Mark 75th Anniversary of Hartford Circus Fire

HARTFORD, CT — A remembrance ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of one of the deadliest fires in American history is scheduled this weekend at the site of the terrible inferno in Hartford.

The public is invited to the ceremony, slated for Saturday, July 6 at 2:30 p.m., at the Hartford Circus Fire Memorial Site at 350 Barbour Street in the capital city. The ceremony will take place exactly 75 years, nearly to the exact moment, of the deadly blaze.

On the afternoon of July 6, 1944, an estimated 7,000 spectators were in attendance at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, enjoying a Thursday matinee performance.

Around 2:40 p.m., as the wild lion act ended and the Flying Wallendas took center ring, a small ball of flame broke out high on the sidewall of the tent. Believing the fire would be immediately extinguished, audience members did not react until the flames, ignited by flammable waterproofing, shot quickly to the top of the tent.

The ensuing reaction resembled "a desperate stampede," according to historical web site circusfire1944.com. A timeline of the events that followed includes:

• "2:42 p.m. ... When the Ringling band plays Disaster March, circus performers and roustabouts race to predetermined positions, risking their own lives to guide men, women and children to safety beyond the burning Big Top."
• "2:43 p.m. ... The first alarm sounds, alerting nearby fire stations of the circus blaze. Within minutes, department personnel arrive and race to quench the angry flames. Police officers and medical staff join the effort to save lives."
• "2:47 p.m. ... As thousands flee, some brave spectators endure lethal heat to save others, despite the threat to their own lives. By lifting children and the injured over barriers, and by slicing open the canvas, they allow hundreds to escape."
• "2:50 p.m. ... fire devours the last of the circus tent, and the Big Top collapses onto the center ring, dooming those trapped inside. With 168 lives lost, Ringling and the City of Hartford are woven together by tragedy into the fabric of history."

At least two exits from the tent were blocked by chutes used to bring the show's big cats in and out, and numerous people trying to escape could not bypass them. The big top collapsed about eight minutes after the fire started, causing hundreds of people to be trapped beneath it.

An exact total of fatalities is not known, but recent reports have indicated 167 people died in the tragedy. Some people died after jumping off bleachers, others were trampled to death by the panicked crowd trying to escape, and others were burned to death, some beyond recognition.

Among the survivors were renowned circus clown Emmett Kelly and three future notables: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame drummer Hal Blaine, actor Charles Nelson Reilly and former Connecticut Lt. Gov. Eunice Groark.

The cause of the blaze, the eighth-deadliest single-location fire in U.S. history, has never been officially determined.

More than six decades after the fire, a memorial was established at the site, behind the Wish School, which was dedicated on July 6, 2005. The memorial consists of several bronze plaques which describe what was happening at specific times during the fire. The center plaque sits exactly where the center ring of the big top was on that tragic day, and contains the names of each victim embossed on it.