Mysterious blaze kills 186 in 1944 Connecticut circus horror

It was a wartime circus matinee on July 6, 1944, a steamy Thursday afternoon at the Barbour Street Show Grounds in Hartford’s North End. The gigantic circus tent — 425 feet long — was packed with 7,000 people, most of them children enjoying summer vacation with their mothers. Bandleader Evans got the first whiff of trouble, a small flame licking at the tent canvas near the main entrance. A single bucket of water might have doused it — if anyone had thought to have water handy. Evans quickly cued “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” the old circus “disaster march” that alerts carnies to a serious problem.

The Wallendas quickly shinnied down poles and slithered down ropes. Some in the bleachers hesitated, wondering if the smoke and flames were part of the act. Others surged toward exits, two of which were blocked by the animal chutes. The emcee urged calm, but in an instant the flames reached the top of the tent and spread laterally. The canvas, waterproofed with paraffin wax that had been dissolved in gasoline and then painted on, rained down in glops of fire. Bottlenecks of screaming patrons built up at several exits. Some mothers tossed their small children over the masses and outside to safety. Boys with pocketknives slashed the tent sides, saving many lives. A number of adults imperiled themselves while pushing and pulling others out of the inferno. As support ropes burned through, foot-thick mast poles and support timbers crashed to the ground, crushing anything and anyone in their paths.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/3-rings-death-1944-conn-circus-horror-article-1.1599269