HARTFORD FIRE

Circus Fire Scrapbook Memorial Project

Survivors share stories to be presented on the 70th anniversary

By NICOLE PEREZ, nmperez@courant.com

The Hartford Courant

July 6, 2013

HARTFORD ——

David Fitzgerald doesn't remember much of the Hartford circus fire that killed his 3-year-old brother.

He remembers the 95-degree temperatures on July 6, 1944. He remembers jumping on a crowded bus with his brother, mother and next-door neighbors to go to the circus. He remembers sitting high on the wooden bleachers, and seeing orange flames to his left. But that's where his memory stops.

"Next thing I knew was I was standing on a pile of sidewalks at a construction company next door, crying for my mother," said Fitzgerald, who was 6 at the time.

He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital to be treated for first-degree burns on his arms, and his father eventually found him there. His mother was in the hospital for three months with third-degree burns, but survived. His brother, James, died; he had shared a hospital bed with another child because there weren't enough beds.

On Saturday, 69 years after the fire, which killed an estimated 168 people and injured another 700, Fitzgerald, armed with photos and books about the fire, attended the Hartford Public Library kickoff for a year-long scrapbook project librarians are starting. Memories from survivors like Fitzgerald will be collected and presented in one large scrapbook next year at the 70th anniversary of the fire.

But for Fitzgerald, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder related to the event, the memories aren't easy.
"Our family didn't talk about it," Fitzgerald said. "I think about it every day, and at first I didn't realize it, but now I do."

Brenda Miller, executive director of the Hartford History Center who spearheaded the project, said she hopes it can help commemorate the experiences of people like Fitzgerald.

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