by Sam Porcello

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Reading the 1944 Transportation Committee of the Hartford War Council report on the Circus Fire from the State archives, Aetna Florist was listed as providing a delivery van to the scene of the fire to be used to transport the injured.  In fact, Lucille Grady, who was in her twenties at the time, ran her brother’s florist business while they were away at war, and drove the van to the scene of the fire. (Prior to leaving for the Navy in 1942, Herman and Howard decided to convert one of the delivery trucks into an ambulance.) 

I checked the Aetna Ambulance website, read about the company’s history, and emailed members of management to find out more. Aetna management got back to me right away, answered a lot of my questions and also put me in touch with Dianne Grady Evans, daughter and niece of Howard and Herman Grady, founders of Aetna Ambulance.   

by Sam Porcello

Miss earlier volumes? Click here…

Aetna Ambulance employee and Hartford Circus Fire survivor Robert John Titus wrote to me that:

“My most poignant memory was that there was no fire engine responder on standby.  My second most poignant memory was that some people used jack knifes to make their own exits…I remember sitting and looking at the tent starting to burn and then coming down…people panicking, running and screaming, stepping over people to get out using the exits of which there were  only 3.  I remember Emmett Kelly the clown along with the Flying Wallendas helping people to get out.”

I started my research by attending a July 6, 2012 service at Hartford’s Circus Fire Memorial honoring the 68^th anniversary of the fire.  There, I learned about the fire from memorial plaques and interviewed a survivor.  As I dug into newspaper articles, microfiche, secondary books, ordinances and the Circus Fire archive at the Connecticut State Library, I found many changes in local, state and National laws that were created as a result of the fire.  Something else also caught my eye – I noticed a single article from the Hartford Courant written about 20 years ago that discussed Aetna Ambulance’s history.

Check back for future volumes…

by Sam Porcello

Read Volume 1 here…

In Hartford, there was just one private ambulance company at the time, Maple Hill, provided through the Talarski Funeral Home.  (Many funeral homes including Ahern on Farmington Avenue provided ambulance services in the early 1900s, since hearses were large enough for people to lay down in). Penicillin was newly available, and approximately 85% of the world’s supply was being used in the war to treat infections, including pilots’ burns.

There were several factors that contributed to the Hartford Circus Fire.  Small circus fires were actually pretty common in 1944, because more than 41% of Americans smoked.  Safety codes at the time applied mostly to buildings.  Since tents were “just” temporary structures, they did not generate a lot of attention.  Requirements for detailed safety inspections, exit widths and having fire equipment onsite did not exist for outdoor events.  With resources depleted from the war, manpower was scarce, so there were fewer Ringling employees watching inside the tent for fires.

The tent itself was waterproofed with a highly flammable mixture of paraffin and 6,000 gallons of gasoline, which accelerated the spread of the fire.  From the time the fire started until the tent was completely burned away, a total of 10 minutes elapsed.   A total of 168 people died, and another 484 were injured….(more to come, check back for future volumes).

by Sam Porcello

For the past three years, I have participated in National History Day, a nationwide historical research competition for middle and high school students.  The theme for 2013 is “Turning Points in History: People, Places and Ideas.”   I chose the Hartford Circus Fire as my topic because I have always been intrigued how every July 6^th, amid the cheerful Fourth of July stories, my local news always includes a report about the 1944 fire.  I wanted to find out why a 10 minute event continues to be discussed 68 years later, and what changes it brought about.

The tragic fire occurred on July 6, 1944 on Barbour Street in Hartford during an afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers circus.  It was one month after D-Day. Connecticut, a major defense manufacturer with its Pratt aircraft, Colt firearms and Waterbury brass foundries, had a thorough emergency plan in place in case of enemy attack.  This plan included using delivery vans from local businesses such as Aetna Florist, Colt, and Brown Thompson as ambulances to transport the injured…check back for future volumes.