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The Hartford Circus Fire by Michael Skidgell
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The Hartford Circus Fire

Tragedy Under the Big Top

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Narrator P.J. Ochlan

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Length 4 hours 19 minutes
Language English
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Through firsthand accounts and interviews with survivors, author Michael Skidgell attempts to make sense of one of Hartford's worst tragedies.

Almost 7,000 fans eagerly packed into the Ringling Brothers big top on July 6, 1944. With a single careless act, an afternoon at the "Greatest Show on Earth" quickly became one of terror and tragedy as the paraffin-coated circus tent caught fire. Panicked crowds rushed for the few exits, but in minutes, the tent collapsed on those still struggling to escape below. A total of 168 lives were lost, many of them children, with many more injured and forever scarred by the events. Hartford and the surrounding communities reeled in the aftermath as investigators searched for the source of the fire and the responsible parties.

Michael Skidgell, a lifelong Connecticut resident, is a project manager and an engineering manager at Steeltech Building Products. He has served in the construction company as a draftsman, engineer, estimator, coordinator, and project manager for thirty years. Skidgell started his research on the Hartford circus fire in 2001, and has been pursuing the subject ever since.

P. J. Ochlan, an Audie Award-nominated and multiple AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator, has recorded close to 200 audiobooks. His acting career spans more than thirty years and has included Broadway, the New York Shakespeare Festival (under Joseph Papp), critically acclaimed feature films, and regular roles in television series. Along the way, he's worked with countless icons, including Jodie Foster, Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams, Al Pacino, and Garry Marshall.

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