Eighty years afterwards,  , Jerry LeVasseur , may also consider the , melting wax dripping onto him, burning his body as he and his family tried to escape, his family falling on top of him.
Just as victims of World War II are dwindling, but are  , those who lived , through the , Hartford Circus Fire , of , July 6, 1944, which killed at least 168 individuals, 100 of them children, and injured thousands more. Among the dead were 59 babies who were 9 or younger.
According to the following morning ‘s Hartford Courant, The Flying Wallendas were on the high wire in one of the circus ‘ three rings that morning.
LeVasseur, 6 at the time, who now lives in , Brunswick, Maine, is one of the few existing victims and says, despite significant injuries, including the loss of most of his remaining hand’s hands, he has maintained a good attitude toward life.
On that hot day when a little fire suddenly roared into a giant fire, LeVasseur recalls vividly how he was in the ledge of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum &, Bailey large leading on Barbour Street. The , tent had been waterproofed , with a mixture of 6, 000 gallons of gasoline and and 1, 800 pounds of paraffin wax.  ,
” We were up in the bleachers somewhere, and the animal act had just finished and a high-wire act” had begun, he said. They suddenly started descending. And as I turned to my right, the tent was still in flames at the time. Before, there were fires, but none of them reached the main tent.  ,
Because they arrived late, they had no fire extinguishers on that day. And at that time, the tent was rendered waterproof by paraffin and gasoline.
The big top went up in about 10 minutes, LeVasseur said. He and his mother, Marion, headed for the entrance, but animal cages were blocking it and they had to climb over them. His mother lost her grip on her son, and a police officer eventually fell on top of him. His mother did n’t survive.
LeVasseur said,” A policeman grabbed my mother’s hand and she must have had mine, and she must have had mine, and he was pulling her up and someone must have struck us.” And then I fell, and probably she fell on top of me. And they had to leave because the tent was going down and so forth. So they could n’t do anything.”
Somehow, LeVasseur was taken out of the tent and to a hospital. He shared a bed with another child who had passed away and was placed in an oxygen tent.
” So the parts of me that got burnt were from the arms, my head, shoulders and so forth, “he said”. I was one of the two or three, I believe, who were still alive and carried out of this pile right next to the cages there.
” And somebody said,’ I do n’t think he’s going to make it,’ “he said”. And I said to myself, Oh, yes, I am. And that’s my attitude towards life. Anyway, I was taken to , Hartford Hospital , at some point, I remember skin just hanging off my arms, and then you know, them cutting it off. ”  ,
Despite losing his fingers on his left hand, LeVasseur played sports at the , Gunnery School , ( now the , Frederick Gunn School ) in , Washington, and went on to , Lehigh University, where he majored in accounting.
Even though he later became the chief financial officer for a company, he claimed that because of his scarring, he would get into fights as a child and that “even adults would look at me strangely.”
There have n’t been many reunions, LeVasseur said. He went to the 50th anniversary, but the only people recognized were the police and military who were involved.  ,
” When Stuart O’Nan wrote his book (” The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy” ), and he was going to have a get-together at the , Hartford , library, the , State Library, I said, have name tags,” LeVasseur said.  ,
He did, and I then got to meet some of the injured people. And it’s unfortunate that it was n’t a situation like the war, where you get together every year or every five years or something, but we never did, he said.
A number of circus employees were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the fire. In the wake of this, highly flammable water proofing was discontinued or outlawed.  , Hartford , officials and cities around the country also changed how circuses and other carnivals were allowed to operate.
LeVasseur has always had a lifelong interest in running.
” I’m still competing at 86. I belong to the , New England , 65-Plus Runners club, “he said”. Five of us are competing at nationals, but we have already broken six national records and two world records in relays this year. ” He’s also raised sled dogs.
He and his wife have four daughters and three grandchildren.
He looks back on” a very good life. I’m happy with what we’ve done. I’ve been in a lot of halls of fame for running, and it’s been good.
They include Maine Running, Gunnery Athletic, Bowdoin Officials,  , New England , 65-Plus Runners club and Maine Senior Games”. Running’s been very good to me, “he said.
After all he went through, he said he would n’t have a problem going to the circus again ( he’s not sure whether he’s been since 1944 ).
” I know it would n’t bother me, “he said.
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