BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//chikkutakku.com//RDFCal 1.0//EN X-WR-CALDESC:GoogleカレンダーやiCalendar形式情報を共有シェ アしましょう。近所のイベントから全国のイベントま で今日のイベント検索やスケジュールを決めるならち っくたっく X-WR-CALNAME:ちっくたっく X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Hartford Circus Fire\, Hartford\, CT (1944) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260706T040000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260707T040000Z UID:735098640222 DESCRIPTION:Hartford Circus Fire\, Hartford\, CT (1944) The fire began as a small flame about 15 minutes into the show\, on the southwest sidewall of the tent\, while the Great Wallendas were on. Circus Bandleader Merle E vans is said to be the person who first spotted the flames\, and immediate ly directed the band to play "Stars and Stripes Forever"\, the tune that t raditionally signaled distress to all circus personnel. Ringmaster Fred Br adna urged the audience not to panic and to leave in an orderly fashion\, but the power failed and he could not be heard. Bradna and the ushers unsu ccessfully tried to maintain some order as the panicked crowd tried to fle e the big top.\nSources and investigators differ on how many people were k illed and injured. Various people and organizations say it was 167\, 168\, or 169 persons (the 185 figure is usually based on official tallies that included a collection of body parts that were listed as a "victim") with o fficial treated injury estimates running over 700 people. The number of ac tual injuries is believed to be higher than those figures\, since many peo ple were seen that day heading home in shock without seeking treatment in the city. The only animals in the big top at the time were the big cats tr ained by May Kovar and Joseph Walsh that had just finished performing when the fire started. The big cats were herded through the chutes leading fro m the performing cages to several cage wagons\, and were unharmed except f or a few minor burns.\nThe cause of the fire remains unproven. Investigato rs at the time believed it was caused by a carelessly flicked cigarette bu t others suspected an arsonist. Several years later while being investigat ed on other arson charges\, Robert Dale Segee (1929–1997) who was an ado lescent roustabout at the time\, confessed to starting the blaze. He was n ever tried for the crime and later recanted his confession.\nBecause the b ig top tent had been coated with 1\,800 lb (816 kg) of paraffin wax dissol ved in 6\,000 US gallons (23 m³) of gasoline (some sources say kerosene)\ , a common waterproofing method of the time\, the flames spread rapidly. M any people were badly burned by the melting paraffin\, which rained down l ike napalm from the roof. The fiery tent collapsed in about eight minutes according to eyewitness survivors\, trapping hundreds of spectators beneat h it.\nThe circus had been experiencing shortages of personnel and equipme nt due to World War II. Delays and malfunctions in the ordinarily smooth o rder of the circus had become commonplace. Two years earlier\, on August 4 \, 1942\, a fire had broken out in the menagerie\, killing a number of ani mals. Circus personnel were concerned about the 1944 Hartford show for oth er reasons. Two shows had been scheduled for July 5\, but the first had to be canceled because the circus trains arrived late and the circus could n ot set up in time. In circus superstition\, missing a show is considered e xtremely bad luck\, and although the July 5 evening show ran as planned\, many circus employees may have been on their guard\, half-expecting an eme rgency or catastrophe.\nIt is commonly believed that the number of fatalit ies is higher than the estimates given\, due to poorly kept residency reco rds in rural towns\, and the fact that some smaller remains were never ide ntified or claimed. It is also believed that the intense heat from the fir e combined with the accelerants\, the paraffin and gasoline\, could have i ncinerated people completely\, as in cremation\, leaving no substantial ph ysical evidence behind. Additionally\, free tickets had been handed out th at day to many people in and around the city\, some of whom appeared to ey ewitnesses and circus employees to be drifters\, who would never have been reported missing by anyone if they were killed in the disaster. The numbe r of people in the audience that day has never been established with certa inty\, but the closest estimate is about 7\,000.[1]\nWhile many people wer e burned to death by the fire\, many others died as a result of the ensuin g chaos. Though most spectators were able to escape the fire\, many people were caught up in the hysteria and panicked. Witnesses said some people s imply ran around in circles trying to find their loved ones\, rather than trying to escape the burning tent. Some escaped but ran back inside to fin d family members. Others stayed in their seats until it was too late\, ass uming that the fire would be put out promptly\, and the show would continu e.\nBecause at least two of the exits were blocked\, by the chutes used to bring the show's big cats in and out of the tent\, people trying to escap e could not bypass them. Some died from injuries sustained after leaping f rom the tops of the bleachers in hopes they could escape under the sides o f the tent\, though that method of escape ended up killing more people tha n it saved. Others died after being trampled by other spectators\, with so me asphyxiating underneath the piles of people who had fallen down over ea ch other.\nMost of the dead were found in piles\, some three bodies deep\, at the most congested exits. A small number of people were found alive at the bottoms of these piles\, protected by the bodies that were on top of them when the burning big top ultimately fell down on those still trapped beneath it. Because of a picture that appeared in several newspapers of sa d tramp clown Emmett Kelly holding a water bucket\, the event became known as "the day the clowns cried."\n\nhttp://www.circusfire1944.com/\n\n LOCATION: END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR