Edge Rewrite
location Source code View original
// request.cf · coarse context

A page that knows where it met you.

Only coarse request metadata is shown. This demo does not display or persist visitor IP addresses.

Country
US
Cloudflare location
CMH
Connection
HTTP/2
Language
Not provided

Ray ID: a26ec1f9dce24652

Jump to content

List of circus fires

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Throughout history, multiple circuses have been damaged or destroyed by fire disasters.

Circus fires
Fire Date Location Description Refs.
Toronto circus riot July 13, 1855 Toronto, Province of Canada Due to a conflict between local firefighters and circus clowns, the S.B. Howes' Star Troupe Menagerie & Circus was destroyed by rioters. Firefighters tore down the circus tent and burned it. [1][2]
River Falls circus fire June 21, 1893 River Falls, Wisconsin, US During a severe thunderstorm, a lightning strike on the center pole in the menagerie of Ringling Bros. Circus killed eight people instantly and injured around 30 or 40 more, some of the latter succumbing to their wounds. A fire started but was extinguished. [3][4]
Huntsville circus fire October 28, 1916 Huntsville, Alabama, US A flash fire killed 130 horses at a Ringling Bros. Circus. [5]: 134 [6]: 117 
Sanger's Circus fire disaster of 1920 July 15, 1920 Taunton, UK A fire erupted at Sanger's Circus at around 3:40 PM. Fanned by strong winds, the flame destroyed the big top within four and a half minutes. Four people, three of whom children, burned to death, while another man died later at the hospital from his burns. More than 20 people received burn treatment. [7]
Rochester circus fire February 20, 1940 Rochester, Indiana, US A short circuit in the paint and blacksmith shop started a fire at Cole Brothers & Robbins circus winter headquarters. No people were killed, but 170 animals were lost; six lions, two tigers, and two leopards were deemed too dangerous to be released and died in the blaze; more than 100 monkeys, two zebras, two llamas, two mouflons, two aoudads, a pygmy hippopotamus, an elephant, and a sacred cow also perished. Damages were estimated at US$150,000 (equivalent to $3,450,000 in 2025). [8][9][10]
Cleveland circus fire August 4, 1942 Cleveland, Ohio, US A fire of unclear origins began in a tent where animals were housed at a Barnum and Bailey Circus. Thirty-five animals died. Several zebras escaped and stampeded toward nearby railroad tracks before being recaptured. [11]
Hartford circus fire July 6, 1944 Hartford, Connecticut, US The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus caught fire, and the fire was worsened by the paraffin and gasoline coatings used to waterproof the tent. At least 167 people died and over 700 were injured. The fire was one of the worst fire disasters in United States history and was the deadliest fire ever recorded in Connecticut. [12][13]
Niterói circus fire December 17, 1961 Niterói, Brazil The Gran Circus Norte-Americano caught fire during a sold-out performance. Of all the casualties, 372 died immediately, with the total reaching 503 dead as others succumbed to their injuries. About 70% of the victims were children, with many eyewitnesses raising claims that the children had been trampled to death by adults attempting to escape the circus tent. [14]
Sinking of the Fleurus June 26, 1963 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada The circus ship Fleurus was filled with performers and animals when it caught fire and sank. All passengers were safely evacuated except for some zebras, which drowned. [15]
Bangalore circus fire February 7, 1981 Bangalore, India The day of the fire was the last day of the circus, with school children being the bulk of the audience. Eyewitnesses later stated that shortly after the trapeze artist landed, cries of "Benki, benki!" ("Fire, fire!") were heard throughout the tent. The fire swept the main tent, which crashed down in flames onto a crowd of about 4,000 people, setting off a stampede towards the exits. The event killed 92 people and injured 300 others. [16][17][18][19]
Kursk circus fire December 14, 1996 Kursk, Russia A cigarette butt discarded by a spectator ignited gasoline that had been poured on the arena floor to keep the dust down. One woman and five monkeys died, and four people were hospitalized for burns. [20]
Riga circus fire March 19, 2015 Riga, Latvia A fire broke out in the Riga Circus at around 3:40 PM. Firefighting was prolonged since the fire brigades had allocated personnel to fighting wildfires in the countryside amid dry weather. The blaze was localized and extinguished after burning an area of 120 square metres (1,300 ft2). No people were injured, although a python died of overheating or smoke inhalation. [21]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Metzger, Patrick (September 12, 2013). "How a Fight With Clowns Led to the Birth of Modern Policing in Toronto". Torontoist. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013.
  2. ↑ Bunch, Adam (October 2, 2012). "The Toronto Circus Riot of 1855 — the day the clowns picked the wrong Toronto brothel". Spacing Toronto. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Eight Left Dead. A Bolt of Lightning Strikes Ringling's Circus Tent". Vilas County News-Review. June 29, 1893. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Circus Horror at River Falls, Seven Persons Were Killed". The Sun. Spring Valley, Wisconsin. June 23, 1893. p. 1.
  5. ↑ Pruitt, Ranee' G., ed. (2005). Eden of the South A Chronology of Huntsville, Alabama 1805–2005 (PDF). Huntsville-Madison County Public Library. pp. 1–287. ISBN 0-9707368-2-7. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  6. ↑ Griner, Gary M., Sr (1994). "G. A. Plummer, House Carpenter". The Historic Huntsville Quarterly of Local Architecture and Preservation. 20 (2): 102–119. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Linham, Laura (May 19, 2023). "Taunton history: The Sanger's Circus Fire Disaster of 1920". Somerset County Gazette. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  8. ↑ Mitchell, Dawn (February 20, 2020). "Retro Indy: Fire ravaged circus and elephants roamed the streets of Fulton County". The Indianapolis Star.
  9. ↑ "Fire Destroys Most of Cole Brothers' Circus; Caged Animals Perish in Indiana Quarters". The New York Times. February 21, 1940.
  10. ↑ "Pigmy Hippopotamus Boiled in His Tank As Fire Destroys 170 Circus Beasts in Cages". New York World-Telegram. February 21, 1940. Retrieved April 16, 2026 – via rarenewspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "1942 Cleveland circus fire... Ringling Brothers Circus..." RareNewspapers.com. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Historic Hartford circus fire 75 years later: Phyllis' story". WTNH.com. July 4, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  13. ↑ Condon, Tom (July 2, 2014). "Hartford Circus Fire: July 6, 1944, Day Of Panic, Heroes". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Calamity Follows Circus Fire". Desert Sun. December 18, 1961. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Fleurus – 1963". Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  16. ↑ Gangadhar, Nikhil (April 11, 2016). "Bengaluru can't forget the fire tragedy of 1981". Deccan Herald. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  17. ↑ Kodkani, Jayanth (February 16, 2020). "Venus Circus tragedy and the rings of fire | Bengaluru News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Death Toll Raised to 66 In Fire at Circus in India". The New York Times. February 9, 1981. Archived from the original on November 18, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  19. ↑ Das, R.A.P. (1983). "1981 Circus fire disaster in Bangalore, India: Causes, management of burn patients and possible presentation". Burns. 10 (1): 17–29. doi:10.1016/0305-4179(83)90123-7. PMID 6640383.
  20. ↑ "Circus Fire Kills Barmaid, Monkeys". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. December 16, 1996. Retrieved April 16, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Python perishes in circus fire". eng.lsm.lv. Latvian Public Media. March 19, 2015.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_circus_fires&oldid=1354028745"