The Circus Fire
The Circus Fire, nonfiction, written by Stewart O’Nan in 2000 was about the Hartford, Connecticut circus fire that took place on July 6, 1944. The book is about the history of what happened that day. O’Nan uses his interviews with people and other information he was able to compile to write this book. The author’s purpose in writing this book was to tell hundreds of survivors’ stories. As O’Nan stated in his book, “I would become – in a way I did not feel comfortable with –the custodian of the circus fire, implicitly charged with not only telling its story but also, in the method of telling it, in my choices as a writer, interpreting the fire, imbuing it with whatever meaning I felt it had.”
There have been many other circus fires, but the Hartford, Connecticut circus fire that took place on July 6, 1944 would be one to remember because it was one of the worst fire disasters in the United States. What started out as an ordinary afternoon at a circus, ended in a disaster. Twenty minutes into the show, a small flame began on the southwest sidewall of the tent. The small flame would eventually make its way to the big top, which was waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline and in seconds burn out of control. There were about 8700 people present that day at the circus and 167 would die from this tragic event.
The theme of the book is the circus fire of Hartford, Connecticut. The thesis of the book is what people recall from this tragedy and how events played out leading to the fire. O’Nan did plenty of research and interviewing prior to writing the book. He used numerous photographs throughout the book to help reader see what was going on in the various stages of the fire. He also included some drawings to help people better visualize where things were, like the setup of the big tent and what types of burns people had. The author did a great job of keeping the details in chronological order, starting with the circus arriving in town and setting up and then leading to the investigation of the fire. O’Nan used explanations with the questioning during the investigation.
The book was very interesting with thoroughness too. He was able to use people’s accounts of the events that day and build it into a history of the event. I agree with what the author said about not being able to pinpoint the start of the fire to anyone because it was a hot day and no one really saw how it happened. I also agree with what he said when the flame was small, people were not concerned about it because they thought it was part of an act or was going to be put out soon. People had been anticipating this and were not going to let a small fire take their attention away from the acts. The fire may have been started by a cigarette or someone may have intentionally done it, but it is unclear of how this fire started.
The author has written numerous books besides this one, and served as the editor for The Vietnam Reader. He lives in Avon, Connecticut. He had some interest in this circus fire and wanted more information about it, but had a hard time finding much on it, so he decided to interview people and do some research . He had wanted someone else to write the book, but discovered once he finished his research, that the book had him already. All the pictures he included in the book really helped with understanding what was going on at the different stages of this disaster. They really aided in understanding the order of events.
For not knowing anything about this disaster or the circuses, the author did an excellent job of introducing it. The book walked through the events before and after the circus and through the convictions. The book also talks about this unidentified girl called 1565, who was later in 1991 claimed as a daughter, but there are still disagreements about who she really is. The author also talks about the survivors who will never forget that day and those who had nightmares up until their deaths. It’s not surprising that people have nightmares about disasters like these. It really had a huge impact on their lives and it is something that can’t be let go of or forgotten. At one point in 1950, a man by the name of Robert Segee confessed to setting the tent on fire, but he said at that time he was either brainwashed or insane. The book states: “When the detectives asked him how someone might have set the tent on fire, Segee said someone could have used a mirror or a magnifying glass to set the grass on fire.” The state’s attorney office would state that the cause of the fire was “undetermined”. There are many mysteries of this circus fire. Like the author says in the book, “Likewise, the desire to make sense of what happened, to find some justice and peace of mind by ordering and documenting the events, will always tempt us. But the fire is not that kind of story. Look close and it breaks up, it falls apart.”
The circus fire took place during World War II. There was a lot of emphasis throughout the book about individual victims such as 1565. Overall, the book did an excellent job on describing the different perspectives of the fire. Dates were used to show what has been done during what periods, with the greatest emphasis on the day the fire happened.
Many lives were lost during this tragic event and The Circus Fire did great job of accounting for what happened and keeping this as a part of history. The book was very well organized and had chronology to help readers keep up with what happened during what time period. This is an excellent book to read and learn about one of the worst fire disasters in the U.S. history.
