The Hartford Circus Fire by Michael Skidgell

Author:Michael Skidgell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

View from Barbour Street of the burning big top, which can be seen beyond the sideshow tent on the left. Handlers rushed the elephants, on the right, out of the area quickly to prevent even more chaos. Photo by Ralph Emerson Sr., from author’s collection .

The Wallendas saw the fire on the sidewall rise and ignite the fringe on the edge of the waterproof canvas roof, and the flames began to spread upward quickly. Karl motioned across the tent for the others in his crew to get down, and he followed them down the rope ladder and out the rear exit. May Kovar, who would be killed by one of her lions five years later, noticed a sheet of flame while she was in the first performance ring sending the big cats through the northwest runway and tried to rush the animals out. She struggled with a terrified beast that tried to run back into the ring as the fire spread above them and also had to separate a couple of big cats that started to fight inside the runway as patrons climbed over in their effort to escape. At the other end of the big top, Joseph Walsh had six lions in ring three when he noticed the fire and quickly rushed them out to their cages through the northeast runway, where many of the dead would soon be found.

Hartford Police officers James Kenefick and Henry Griffin were detailed to the back lot area of the circus grounds, at the east end of the big top and around the performers’ dressing tent that was erected in the back corner of the lot. Officer J.F. Healy, scheduled to go on duty at three o’clock, had just seated his wife and child in Section V and was also at the east end, standing next to the bandstand and watching the show. Griffin was stepping in and out of the east entrance at the opposite end from the main entrance, keeping an alternating watch on the dressing tent and the bleacher seating areas at that end of the tent. Kenefick was standing in the exit between the southeast bleachers and the reserved seats when he noticed a commotion at the far end of the tent: people leaving their seats and a narrow flame working its way up the sidewall behind the bleachers. Griffin heard the commotion from outside and rushed inside to see the spectators heading toward him for the exit. Kenefick and Griffin kept them calm and moving, as the flames had now reached the roof canvas and were spreading quickly.

Hartford Police officer Joseph Weidel was also at the east end, waiting with Officer Healy to go on duty at three o’clock, when he noticed the fire and immediately ran toward it; his sons were seated in Section E, about halfway between his location and the fire, and he wanted to make sure they got out safely. Weidel found his boys, led them out and then returned to the east end to help, but the heat was too intense for him to enter.

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