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Hartford circus fire

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1944 Hartford Circus Fire Raw Footage

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1944 Hartford Circus Fire the big top collapse

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The Hartford Circus Fire

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VIDEO: Remains of 2 circus fire victims successfully exhumed

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Hartford Circus Fire That Killed 167, Injured Hundreds More Remembered 75 Years Later

The Hartford circus fire, which occurred on July 6, 1944, in Hartford, Connecticut, was one of the worst fire disasters in the history of the United States. The fire occurred during an afternoon performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that was attended by 6,000 to 8,000 people. The fire killed 167 people and more than 700 were injured.
  • Background 

  • The fire 

  • Victims 

  • First investigation 

  • Segee's confession 

  • Little Miss 1565 

  • Personal accounts 

  • Hartford and the circus today 

  • Fiction, nonfiction and musical depictions 

  • Notable survivors