Episode 5: Hartford Circus Fire Survivor Nancy Spada Shares Her Story

On July 6, 1944 7,000 people attended the afternoon performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford.  Shortly after the performance started, a fire broke out and quickly engulfed the entire big top, taking the lives of at least 167 people and injuring over 700. The tragedy remains the deadliest disaster ever recorded in Connecticut. Eight-year-old Nancy Saunders (Spada) attended the circus that day with her parents and two sisters and sat at the top of the bleachers just a few yards away from where the fire started. Thanks to the quick actions of her parents, they were all able to escape.  Her father, a Hartford policeman, went back into the big top and helped rescue other survivors.