Foundation Raising Money for Connecticut Circus Fire Tragedy Victims 60 Years Later
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Sixty years after 168 people were killed in a Hartford circus fire, a memorial is being planned for the victims.
Officials of a memorial foundation announced Monday that more than $100,000 has been raised to erect a memorial to the people who died in the 1944 circus fire.
A groundbreaking and memorial ceremony will be held July 6, the 60th anniversary of the blaze.
On July 6, 1944, fire roared through the Ringling Bros.' big top on Barbour Street in Hartford during a matinee performance.
The fire left 168 people dead and nearly 700 injured.
Six years after the fire, a circus worker, Robert D. Segee, confessed to setting the tent aflame. A few months later he recanted his confession.
The memorial foundation, headed by Hartford Fire Chief Charles A. Teale Sr. and Kathy Spada-Basto, daughter of fire survivor Nancy Spada, began fund-raising in February 2003.
Designed by DuBose Associates and TO Design, Hartford firms that have donated a portion of their work to the effort, the fire memorial, circular in shape, will feature pedestrian pathways lined with descriptive plaques and bricks carrying the messages of victims' families, survivors and other contributors. Granite benches will offer rest for visitors.
In the middle of the memorial, at the epicenter of the three rings of the circus, a large bronze medallion will bear the names of those who perished there. It is hoped the memorial will be completed by the fall.
