WEBVTT - Hell on Earth

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to American Shadows, a production of iHeartRadio and

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<v Speaker 1>Grimm and Mild from Air and Manky.

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<v Speaker 2>It sailed over the Empire State Building, moving at a

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<v Speaker 2>stately sixty eight miles an hour. The people below looked

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<v Speaker 2>up to watch it, and for those high above on

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<v Speaker 2>board the Hindenburg, including eight year old Werner g Donor,

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<v Speaker 2>the view was like nothing they had ever seen before.

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<v Speaker 2>Werner and his family had boarded the airship on May

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<v Speaker 2>third of nineteen thirty seven in Frankfurt, Germany, bound for

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<v Speaker 2>New Jersey. It was the fastest way to get across

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<v Speaker 2>the ocean and seemingly very safe. The vessel belonged to

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<v Speaker 2>the world's first airline company, and it had an outstanding

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<v Speaker 2>track record. The Hindenburg was an engineering marvel and a

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<v Speaker 2>prized possession. Named propaganda machine of the Nazi Party. It

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<v Speaker 2>flew with swastikas and was filled with all the luxuries

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<v Speaker 2>expected by anyone who could afford a ticket, beautiful interiors,

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<v Speaker 2>comfortable cabins, elegant meals, and even a fireproof smoking lounge.

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<v Speaker 2>And although Werner and his siblings would have preferred the

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<v Speaker 2>spacious decks and play spases of a traditional ocean liner.

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<v Speaker 2>The airship's catwalks and views of ice filled landscapes were

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<v Speaker 2>memories that he held on to for the rest of

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<v Speaker 2>his life. To stay afloat, the ship swelled with over

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<v Speaker 2>seven million cubic feet of hydrogen gas. To fly, it

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<v Speaker 2>carried four diesel engines. The further it traveled, the more

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<v Speaker 2>fuel it used, and the lighter it became. It was

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<v Speaker 2>imperative for the ship to maintain its weight for fear

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<v Speaker 2>of rising too high. A solution came in the form

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<v Speaker 2>of clouds. The ship passed through them and collected rain water.

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<v Speaker 2>For some on board, it felt close to heaven. Just

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<v Speaker 2>after dawn on May sixth, Werner and his family prepared

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<v Speaker 2>to land. They were expecting to be on the ground shortly,

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<v Speaker 2>but the captain decided to bide his time. There was

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<v Speaker 2>a storm coming in and he wanted to take extra precautions.

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<v Speaker 2>By that evening, the ship was cleared for touchdown in Lakehurst,

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<v Speaker 2>New Jersey. There, the ground crew waited to receive the

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<v Speaker 2>ship's roping so it could be securely tied to a

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<v Speaker 2>mooring mast. A light rain began to fall the wind blustered.

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<v Speaker 2>The crew decided to go for a riskier high landing.

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<v Speaker 2>They had passed the lines down from a higher altitude,

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<v Speaker 2>but the ship was soon tied into the ground winches

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<v Speaker 2>and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. For nearly a century, eyewitnesses, historians,

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<v Speaker 2>and engineers have debated what happened next. What we do

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<v Speaker 2>know is this, at seven twenty five PM, a spark

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<v Speaker 2>created a flame that caused an explosion near the stern

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<v Speaker 2>of the ship. Its hydrogen was released in a massive

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<v Speaker 2>plume that would have been invisible save for the fireball.

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<v Speaker 2>The fire sprinted across the airship's magnificent skin, voracious in

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<v Speaker 2>its incineration, Hindenberg's keleton plummeted to the ground. The groundsman

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<v Speaker 2>screamed and scattered under the heat and falling debris, and

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<v Speaker 2>in just forty seconds from start to finish, the disaster

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<v Speaker 2>was over, at least at the airfield. Thirty six people

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<v Speaker 2>died that day, but that moment, one of the most

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<v Speaker 2>stunning disasters of modern aviation, was captured in real time

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<v Speaker 2>as a radio broadcast. Photographs and footage captured by the

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<v Speaker 2>press were shared across the globe. What started out as

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<v Speaker 2>a day of joy for Werner, his family, and the

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<v Speaker 2>rest of those on board had taken a very dark turn.

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<v Speaker 2>Though he would survive the accident, his sister would not.

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<v Speaker 2>What could have been filed away as a happy memory

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<v Speaker 2>for all aboard became a fundamentally life altering moment from

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<v Speaker 2>which those who were there that day would never recover.

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<v Speaker 2>This is an extreme example, but it's also true that

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<v Speaker 2>for many of us, this is how it usually happens.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Lorn Vogelbaum. Welcome to American Shadows. Merrel Evans was

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<v Speaker 2>a magician. His tool of choice, though, wasn't a magic wand,

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<v Speaker 2>but a conductor's bow. For over twenty years, Murrell had

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<v Speaker 2>been at the helm of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum

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<v Speaker 2>Bailey Circus Orchestra. Alongside his colleagues in the pit and

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<v Speaker 2>the ring. Merrell had made it his business to cultivate wonder.

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<v Speaker 2>He shaped each circus's mood with his music and invisible

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<v Speaker 2>stage set by the flick of his wrists and motion

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<v Speaker 2>of his hands. He was a master of his craft,

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<v Speaker 2>one of the best around. On July sixth of nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>forty five, Murrell and his crew were sweating in their

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<v Speaker 2>white and gold suits, though the day had just begun.

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<v Speaker 2>The air was electric as visitors from all over Connecticut

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<v Speaker 2>filed into the Big Top and filled the beaches of

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<v Speaker 2>red and blue wooden chairs. They'd come for the matinee show.

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<v Speaker 2>In a way, this was a homecoming, after all. P. T.

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<v Speaker 2>Barnum had been born a few dozen miles away. Over

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<v Speaker 2>the years, Hartford had become an internationally famous circus destination.

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<v Speaker 2>To say that Circus Day was one of the biggest

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<v Speaker 2>days of the year, it's no understatement. The circus trains

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<v Speaker 2>were marvelous beasts, traveling the rails and bringing American audiences

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<v Speaker 2>sites they could otherwise only dream about. The circus brought

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<v Speaker 2>the outside world in, and for the price of a

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<v Speaker 2>few pennies, that world could be theirs, if only for

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<v Speaker 2>a few hours. Everyone's brows and backs were damp with sweat,

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<v Speaker 2>which was certainly to be expected at the height of summer.

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<v Speaker 2>Even still, the mood was buoyant, excitable. Even it seemed

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<v Speaker 2>that the Allies might soon claim victory in Europe and

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<v Speaker 2>the war's end might be eminent. The audience, largely made

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<v Speaker 2>up of mothers, children, and great parents, couldn't wait to

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<v Speaker 2>have their husbands, fathers and sons home again. It was

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<v Speaker 2>the circus's responsibility to keep this atmosphere jubilant a heavy

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<v Speaker 2>task given that this season had been a particularly trying one.

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<v Speaker 2>It was plagued by personnel shortages, small fires, canceled performances,

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<v Speaker 2>and a loss in profit. A large part of their

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<v Speaker 2>labor force had gone off to fight. They couldn't travel

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<v Speaker 2>as far as they once did. The rail lines were

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<v Speaker 2>prioritized for the effort, but so significant was the circus's

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<v Speaker 2>impact on American morale that President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave

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<v Speaker 2>the Ringling Brothers train a special dispensation, and they were

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<v Speaker 2>able to carry on. Still, they had rolled into town

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<v Speaker 2>behind schedule, with little time to inspect the grounds. Before showtime,

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<v Speaker 2>hundreds of workers had helped to erect the square mile

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<v Speaker 2>of circus tent, under which it estimated eight thousand people

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<v Speaker 2>took their seats. It was ringed with wagons and caged

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<v Speaker 2>animal runways, and flew an American flag above it. All

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<v Speaker 2>the stars and stripes hung limp that day in the

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<v Speaker 2>summer's heat. A bit after two PM, the casting crew

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<v Speaker 2>scuttled to their places, applied the last of their make up,

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<v Speaker 2>got the animals into their chutes, and took their positions. Murle,

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<v Speaker 2>directly across from the ten's entrance, took to his bandstand,

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<v Speaker 2>preparing his twenty nine person ensemble to ready their instruments.

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<v Speaker 2>The show was about to begin. When they began to play,

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<v Speaker 2>the crowd erupted in delight. The show girls dazzled, clowns

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<v Speaker 2>dashed about the ring and its streating parade of animals too.

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<v Speaker 2>The big cats roared, and the elephants marched in time.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a joyful cacophony. The Flying Welendas, a world

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<v Speaker 2>famous family act of death defying acrobats, soon took their

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<v Speaker 2>position high above the crowd. But from thirty feet in

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<v Speaker 2>the air, they saw it, a small flame creeping up

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<v Speaker 2>the southwest sidewall of the tent. Murle soon saw it too.

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<v Speaker 2>Fires and circus tents weren't uncommon. He knew that, in fact,

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<v Speaker 2>there was a whole crew of people known as bucket men,

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<v Speaker 2>whose entire job it was to watch for little eruptions

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<v Speaker 2>of flame. After all, their workplace was highly flammable. It

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<v Speaker 2>was filled with dry grass, sawdust, canvas, and a crowd

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<v Speaker 2>fond of cigarettes. But there was something about this flame

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<v Speaker 2>that looked just wrong. It had begun to climb high

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<v Speaker 2>and fast, licking up the wall with a fiery ferocity

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<v Speaker 2>that no bucket man or men would be able to snuff.

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<v Speaker 2>Murle saw it rise behind the patrons, who seemed to

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<v Speaker 2>be oblivious to what was taking place just beyond their seats.

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<v Speaker 2>Merle sounded the alarm. He ordered his band to play

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<v Speaker 2>the Stars and Stripes Forever, the universal circus signal for

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<v Speaker 2>impending disaster. As their brass blairs filled the tent, some

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<v Speaker 2>people in the audience mistook it for another patriotic display.

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<v Speaker 2>They hummed along, some pretended to march in place as

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<v Speaker 2>Some thought this was all part of the act. Others

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<v Speaker 2>thought there wasn't much to worry about and that it

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<v Speaker 2>would soon be under control. But below them, the circus

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<v Speaker 2>personnel had broken form and were preparing for chaos. Their

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<v Speaker 2>eyes were locked, and the flames shot upward. The ingredients

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<v Speaker 2>for an inferno are simple oxygen, heat, and fuel. It's

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<v Speaker 2>a devastating mix. The fourth factor that makes the sum

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<v Speaker 2>of these parts so deadly is speed. What people don't

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<v Speaker 2>understand until it's too late is how quickly fire can spread,

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<v Speaker 2>and how truly helpless we are in the face of

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<v Speaker 2>this primal element. Humanity was borne from fire, and fire

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<v Speaker 2>can very quickly snuff us out. For example, a fire

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<v Speaker 2>can heat a two story home up to five hundred

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<v Speaker 2>degrees three minutes from inception. In just under four minutes,

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<v Speaker 2>the room where the fire originated might reach fourteen hundred degrees.

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<v Speaker 2>And it's in this superheated, blistering flash over moment where

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<v Speaker 2>almost everything present has released noxious flammable gases that everything

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<v Speaker 2>within the fire's reach will burst into flames. It's the heat,

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<v Speaker 2>gas and smoke inhalation that often claim lives before the

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<v Speaker 2>inferno comes. Scientists believe that this is how most people

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<v Speaker 2>died of Pompeii, not from being engulfed in flames, but

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<v Speaker 2>due to a superheated tidal wave of boiling hot gas.

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<v Speaker 2>So when we talk about the chance to escape a fire,

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<v Speaker 2>we're talking about a mere window of seconds. It was

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<v Speaker 2>in this moment at the Hartford Circus, when the wallendas

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<v Speaker 2>spotted the flames licking when Murrel signaled his band to play,

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<v Speaker 2>that the audience caught on. Someone in the stands shouted

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<v Speaker 2>one of the most dangerous words to yell in a

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<v Speaker 2>crowded space fire. The circus probably hoped for a swift

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<v Speaker 2>and calm evacuation, but panic is often more powerful than hope.

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<v Speaker 2>People moved calmly at first, aided by the circus ushers,

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<v Speaker 2>but as the flames moved from a crawl to a sprint,

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<v Speaker 2>the crowd decided that they had to do the same.

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<v Speaker 2>The big top filled with shouts and screams and the

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<v Speaker 2>stampede of feet down the risers, the clatter of chairs

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<v Speaker 2>being knocked over, and the thud of people tripping down.

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<v Speaker 2>Eight thousand people needed to make it out alive. The

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<v Speaker 2>bucket men were out of their depth. It was clear

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<v Speaker 2>that water was needed, but to the horror of the

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<v Speaker 2>circus crew, their tent was set up too far from

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<v Speaker 2>municipal water sources. The hoses that had brought had the

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<v Speaker 2>wrong fittings and wouldn't attach, and the water wagons outfitted

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<v Speaker 2>for small fires were no match. The circus crew took

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<v Speaker 2>to their stations and fought however they could. They gathered

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<v Speaker 2>the animals and brought them to safety, and worked to

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<v Speaker 2>guide the panicked audience as well. Whoever had a bucket

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<v Speaker 2>within reach grabbed it, but soon realized to the futility

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<v Speaker 2>of the effort. They watched as the canvas tent coated

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<v Speaker 2>in over six thousand pounds of paraffin and gasoline, a

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<v Speaker 2>favorite mixture for waterproofing, turned into a fiery wall, climbing

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<v Speaker 2>to a height of one hundred feet. Within three minutes,

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<v Speaker 2>the flames had reached the ceiling, and then the paraffin

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<v Speaker 2>began to melt, casting down flames onto the crowd below.

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<v Speaker 2>Those who made it to the ground were horrified to

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<v Speaker 2>find most of the eight small exits blocked by steel

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<v Speaker 2>animal shoots. Small children were pushed over as adults tried

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<v Speaker 2>to climb the superheated metal. Others were trapped in the pushing,

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<v Speaker 2>writhing mass of people, pivoting and trying to make escapes

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<v Speaker 2>in other directions. When some cut the canvas and slipped

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<v Speaker 2>out through the slits. At the four minute mark, the

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<v Speaker 2>first fire alarm rang at the firehouse just half a

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<v Speaker 2>mile away. In this bedlam merl and his troop kept

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<v Speaker 2>their positions and continued to play. This was his duty,

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<v Speaker 2>this was his destiny, his proudest posting the most important

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<v Speaker 2>moment of his career. The show would go on until

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<v Speaker 2>it couldn't. He would stay the course and carry his

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<v Speaker 2>circus through to the very end. The tension ropes began

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<v Speaker 2>to catch fire and snap. One by one, the big top.

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<v Speaker 2>Supporting poles crashed to the ground, buckling the canvas. Each

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<v Speaker 2>lumbering fall kicked up a heated blast, singing the skin

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<v Speaker 2>of those still inside. The buckling canvas fanned the flames

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<v Speaker 2>with more oxygen. At about the five minute mark, Merle

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<v Speaker 2>ordered his band to evacuate. His timing was impeccable. It

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<v Speaker 2>was reported that just moments after they left the band stand,

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<v Speaker 2>it was crushed by a falling tent pole. For three

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<v Speaker 2>more minutes, the flames roared into the sky, filling it

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<v Speaker 2>with smoke and ash. The temperature inside the tent climbed

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<v Speaker 2>and would continue to climb to an estimated sixteen hundred

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<v Speaker 2>degrees hot enough to melt metal in fuse bodies. All

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<v Speaker 2>the fire crew could do was hose down the blistered

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<v Speaker 2>and blackened survivors, and then, as quickly as it had started,

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<v Speaker 2>it was over. At eight minutes, the fire had won

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<v Speaker 2>The Big Top, a magnificent canvas the size of two

0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.960
<v Speaker 2>football fields and weighing nineteen tons, collapsed in on itself.

0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:25.280
<v Speaker 2>In doing so, it purged its belly of superheated air,

0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:28.680
<v Speaker 2>singing the grass, trees and skin in its immediate orbit,

0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:33.200
<v Speaker 2>the scream stopped. There was utter silence from the crowd.

0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:48.680
<v Speaker 2>Merle's band played on. It didn't take long for the

0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:52.640
<v Speaker 2>whispers to begin and rumors to fly. It was almost immediate.

0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.200
<v Speaker 2>The fire had no sooner eaten itself alive and stuffed

0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:59.920
<v Speaker 2>itself out. The people began to talk. Was it arson?

0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:03.360
<v Speaker 2>Was its sabotage? Could it really have been an accident?

0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:08.480
<v Speaker 2>Radio announcers broadcasted news of the tragedy. The phone lines

0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.520
<v Speaker 2>jammed with people from neighboring communities calling for word about

0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:15.400
<v Speaker 2>their loved ones. Within the hour, hundreds of volunteers had

0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.240
<v Speaker 2>descended on to the fair grounds, and people brought their

0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:22.960
<v Speaker 2>personal vehicles, and small businesses brought theirs. Makeshift stretchers were

0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:25.840
<v Speaker 2>created to ferry the injured. It was soon clear that

0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:30.000
<v Speaker 2>the city's emergency departments were about to be overrun. In

0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:33.320
<v Speaker 2>the haze of soot and charred flesh, people searched in

0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:36.480
<v Speaker 2>panic for their missing. The families had been split up

0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.760
<v Speaker 2>in the tumult, the crowd forcing clasped hands apart, and

0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:45.680
<v Speaker 2>smoke obscuring people's vision. Some families were reunited, some were

0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:50.240
<v Speaker 2>separated forever. The grounds were covered with bodies in various

0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:53.680
<v Speaker 2>states of distress. Those with life left in them were

0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:58.040
<v Speaker 2>promptly taken away. Those who perished were marked and taken

0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:03.280
<v Speaker 2>in the opposite direction. Some victims were sent to Hartford Hospital.

0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:07.120
<v Speaker 2>Lost children were sent to a local school. The State

0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:12.200
<v Speaker 2>Armory became the temporary morgue. A large, cold building, the

0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:16.280
<v Speaker 2>Armory was mostly quiet as survivors and extended family members

0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:19.720
<v Speaker 2>snaked through its doors and shuffled down its hallways, trying

0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:24.040
<v Speaker 2>to identify bodies that were often charred beyond recognition. They

0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:27.520
<v Speaker 2>were laid out on simple cots and covered with thin blankets.

0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:32.480
<v Speaker 2>Shell shock blanketed the city. As the smoke and ashes settled.

0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:37.840
<v Speaker 2>By nightfall, only two dozen victims had been identified, though

0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:42.040
<v Speaker 2>over a hundred had perished. It was quickly realized that

0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.320
<v Speaker 2>no circus folks had died in the blaze. If these

0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:48.760
<v Speaker 2>survivors held on to any guilt, the police weren't interested

0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:53.800
<v Speaker 2>in hearing about it. These traveling heroes, these entertainers, who

0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:57.600
<v Speaker 2>were expected to bring so much joy, had dramatically fallen

0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:01.400
<v Speaker 2>from grace. They were single hands blamed for bringing this

0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:08.200
<v Speaker 2>unthinkable tragedy. Fires are notoriously hard to investigate. Even more

0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:11.639
<v Speaker 2>so when the scene of one hasn't been secured. Arson

0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:16.000
<v Speaker 2>convictions are often founded on circumstantial evidence and good storytelling

0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:20.160
<v Speaker 2>as opposed to hard science. So though the circus employees

0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:23.200
<v Speaker 2>were rounded up for questioning, a few had little more

0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:26.320
<v Speaker 2>than a guess as to how the blaze started. The

0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.120
<v Speaker 2>things that they were about to get in trouble for

0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.639
<v Speaker 2>were the safety shortcomings and cut corners that allowed this

0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:36.200
<v Speaker 2>tragedy to happen. All in all, one hundred and sixty

0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:39.479
<v Speaker 2>eight people died in the Hartford Circus fire. It was

0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:41.560
<v Speaker 2>nothing short of a miracle that the death poll wasn't

0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:45.840
<v Speaker 2>higher on that fateful summer day. In the end, all

0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:50.560
<v Speaker 2>but six victims were identified. One of these unknowns gripped

0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.919
<v Speaker 2>the spirits of Hartford citizens more than the others. She

0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.040
<v Speaker 2>was a little girl, probably no more than eight years old,

0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:00.000
<v Speaker 2>who looked like she had fallen into a peaceful, restle

0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:03.880
<v Speaker 2>full sleep. Where some had been disfigured in the blaze,

0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:09.000
<v Speaker 2>sometimes beyond hope of recognition, she had not. Her photos

0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:12.440
<v Speaker 2>splashed across the papers, calling for anyone who might know her,

0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:16.560
<v Speaker 2>but they never came. She became known as little Miss

0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.680
<v Speaker 2>fifteen sixty five. The number assigned to her at the

0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:23.760
<v Speaker 2>Armory Morgue. Somewhere out there, her family was missing her.

0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:27.800
<v Speaker 2>For a body so well preserved, no one could understand

0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:32.080
<v Speaker 2>why no one recognized her. There were a few theories.

0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:36.359
<v Speaker 2>Perhaps her family had perished, maybe she was visiting relatives

0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:38.720
<v Speaker 2>and no one knew to look for her. Maybe her

0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:43.280
<v Speaker 2>family members were still in medically induced comas, or perhaps

0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:46.040
<v Speaker 2>in a haze of grief at the morgue, her own

0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:49.359
<v Speaker 2>family had identified another lost child's body as their own

0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:54.040
<v Speaker 2>and left her behind. The week prior, the city had

0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.960
<v Speaker 2>turned out for the circus train, But what drew them

0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:59.720
<v Speaker 2>to the streets on July tenth was a funeral procession.

0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:04.000
<v Speaker 2>For this circus fires unidentified victims. Mourners took to the

0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:07.199
<v Speaker 2>streets as hearses made their way from Hartford Hospital to

0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:12.119
<v Speaker 2>Hartford City Hall and then to the graveyard. Hartford was

0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:15.040
<v Speaker 2>no longer filled with the jubilant sound of the circus

0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:19.520
<v Speaker 2>calliope nor the Big Brass band. Now the air was

0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:31.600
<v Speaker 2>filled with funeral dirges. Five of the circus's executives were

0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:36.160
<v Speaker 2>charged and booked for ten counts of involuntary manslaughter. They

0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:40.560
<v Speaker 2>became defendants in multiple lawsuits found to be negligent. They

0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:44.639
<v Speaker 2>even served short jail sentences for their part. There was

0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:48.280
<v Speaker 2>no fighting the charges, only somber acceptance of their roles

0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:52.639
<v Speaker 2>in this mass tragedy. Upon investigation, it was soon clear

0:19:52.680 --> 0:19:56.320
<v Speaker 2>where things had gone awry. They hadn't gotten proper clearance

0:19:56.320 --> 0:19:59.720
<v Speaker 2>from the fire department. The fire extinguishers were in storage

0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:04.640
<v Speaker 2>and inaccessible. The circus immediately agreed to pay out almost

0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:08.280
<v Speaker 2>five million dollars in compensations to the victims and their families.

0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:11.760
<v Speaker 2>To this day, the cause of the fire has never

0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:15.520
<v Speaker 2>been fully determined, but some investigators believe it was an

0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:20.040
<v Speaker 2>errant cigarette. Other historians are convinced it was indeed arson.

0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:24.119
<v Speaker 2>At one point, a disgruntled circus employee with a history

0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:26.680
<v Speaker 2>of arson charges copped to setting the tent to blaze,

0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:30.760
<v Speaker 2>but his confession was later recanted, though he did end

0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:34.240
<v Speaker 2>up back in jail on an unrelated arson charge. To

0:20:34.320 --> 0:20:38.199
<v Speaker 2>this day, some believe this was the true cause. The

0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:42.560
<v Speaker 2>intervening years were not particularly kind to the circus. Both

0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:44.920
<v Speaker 2>the city of Hartford and the troop tried to heal

0:20:44.960 --> 0:20:48.000
<v Speaker 2>from this tragedy, but its memory is still close at

0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:51.919
<v Speaker 2>hand today. A memorial for the fire sits behind an

0:20:51.960 --> 0:20:56.359
<v Speaker 2>elementary school, a large circular monument situated in the footprint

0:20:56.480 --> 0:21:00.879
<v Speaker 2>of the Big Tops Center. On April thirtieth of twenty seventeen,

0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:04.080
<v Speaker 2>the Ringling Brothers in Barnum and Bailey Circus made a

0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:08.600
<v Speaker 2>pilgrimage back to Hartford. This was their farewell tour, and

0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:12.200
<v Speaker 2>this city was their last stop. A lot had changed

0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:15.439
<v Speaker 2>in the intervening years, the safety measures and fire codes,

0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:20.040
<v Speaker 2>technological innovations, and world events. Time continued to march on.

0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:24.560
<v Speaker 2>But there under the Big Top the Flying Welenda's Acrobat

0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:28.360
<v Speaker 2>family found themselves again, carrying on a legacy that had

0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:32.200
<v Speaker 2>proven itself to be so colorful and so dark and

0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:37.159
<v Speaker 2>so resilient. Returning to the scene of the crime, paying

0:21:37.200 --> 0:21:40.680
<v Speaker 2>their respects to the lives lost and families forever altered,

0:21:41.359 --> 0:21:56.359
<v Speaker 2>the show went on. There's more to this story. Stick

0:21:56.400 --> 0:22:06.880
<v Speaker 2>around after this brief sponsor break to hear all about it.

0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:10.320
<v Speaker 2>It's true that Joseph Figlock never saw it coming, but

0:22:10.440 --> 0:22:14.720
<v Speaker 2>the baby probably didn't either. Joseph was no stranger to

0:22:14.760 --> 0:22:17.320
<v Speaker 2>a hard day's work, but it's difficult to say whether

0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:20.320
<v Speaker 2>we can call him a lucky man. He had worked

0:22:20.359 --> 0:22:22.760
<v Speaker 2>all of his life, having immigrated to the United States

0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:25.879
<v Speaker 2>with his family when he was just a toddler. By

0:22:25.960 --> 0:22:29.280
<v Speaker 2>nineteen thirty seven, he called Detroit, Michigan, his home and

0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:31.679
<v Speaker 2>was employed as a street sweeper with the Department of

0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:35.240
<v Speaker 2>Public Works. He was going about his business one day

0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:39.040
<v Speaker 2>when it came down from above, well, when she came

0:22:39.119 --> 0:22:42.440
<v Speaker 2>down from above, out of a four story window, fell

0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:46.439
<v Speaker 2>a small girl, landing smack on top of Joseph. He

0:22:46.640 --> 0:22:49.480
<v Speaker 2>broke her landing, and though they were both injured, they

0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:53.800
<v Speaker 2>didn't break too much else. Reports of children falling from

0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:57.480
<v Speaker 2>buildings were both newsworthy and not terribly uncommon in the

0:22:57.520 --> 0:23:01.800
<v Speaker 2>earlier parts of the twentieth century. These days, it's estimated

0:23:01.840 --> 0:23:04.840
<v Speaker 2>that each year about four thousand children ten years of

0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:08.920
<v Speaker 2>age and under sea hospital treatment for window falls. Remarkably,

0:23:09.040 --> 0:23:12.399
<v Speaker 2>only about twelve of those will die. And if you

0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:14.199
<v Speaker 2>think about all of the windows in a city that

0:23:14.359 --> 0:23:17.280
<v Speaker 2>might exist within arm's reach of a toddler, the math

0:23:17.440 --> 0:23:21.399
<v Speaker 2>suddenly seems surprisingly in the favor of small children. We

0:23:21.520 --> 0:23:24.760
<v Speaker 2>can think of Joseph as lucky that day, as was

0:23:24.840 --> 0:23:28.480
<v Speaker 2>the little girl. But this is where the story takes

0:23:28.480 --> 0:23:31.440
<v Speaker 2>a step away from the realm of coincidence and into

0:23:31.480 --> 0:23:36.000
<v Speaker 2>the area of strange happenstance. About a year later, on

0:23:36.040 --> 0:23:39.600
<v Speaker 2>September twenty seventh of nineteen thirty eight, Joseph found himself

0:23:39.640 --> 0:23:42.840
<v Speaker 2>sweeping another Detroit alley, just another morning on the job.

0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:46.680
<v Speaker 2>At around ten a m. The earth bound two year

0:23:46.720 --> 0:23:49.760
<v Speaker 2>old Glenn Thomas fell from his home four floors above,

0:23:50.320 --> 0:23:54.680
<v Speaker 2>crashing into Joseph and fracturing Glen's own thigh, arm, shoulder,

0:23:54.680 --> 0:23:58.000
<v Speaker 2>and skull in the process, but the baby did survive.

0:23:59.359 --> 0:24:04.240
<v Speaker 2>With that, Joseph unwittingly helped to avert disaster again, accidentally

0:24:04.280 --> 0:24:06.720
<v Speaker 2>being at the right place at the right time and

0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:10.960
<v Speaker 2>enabling these children to live on. They say lightning never

0:24:11.000 --> 0:24:15.840
<v Speaker 2>strikes the same place twice, but it seems babies sometimes might.

0:24:23.440 --> 0:24:27.520
<v Speaker 1>American Shadows as hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was

0:24:27.520 --> 0:24:31.959
<v Speaker 1>written by Robin miniterter, researched by Robin Minitter and Taylor Haggardorn,

0:24:32.320 --> 0:24:36.200
<v Speaker 1>and produced by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive

0:24:36.200 --> 0:24:40.760
<v Speaker 1>producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn

0:24:40.800 --> 0:24:44.200
<v Speaker 1>more about the show, visit Grimminmile dot com. For more

0:24:44.240 --> 0:24:48.879
<v Speaker 1>podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts, or

0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:53.920
<v Speaker 1>wherever you get your podcasts