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On July 6, 1944, what was meant to be a joyful afternoon at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus turned into one of the deadliest fires in American history. In this episode of Crash Lessons, we tell the story of the Hartford Circus Fire — how a perfect storm of unsafe practices, wartime shortages, and human error led to tragedy, and how the disaster permanently changed public safety standards in the United States.

Sources:

Hartford circus fire - Wikipedia

Inside The Hartford Circus Fire That Killed 167 People

The Hartford Circus Fire - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project

How a Deadly Circus Fire on the 'Day the Clowns Cried' Traumatized a Community—and Led to Lasting Safety Reforms

Hartford Circus Fire 1944: Tragic Big Top Disaster Revealed — Northeast Legends and Stories

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