Wrath of God: Disasters In America S01 E22 Fire Under The Big Top

During the summer of 1944, a fire erupted inside the canvas tent during a Ringling Brothers circus show in Hartford, Connecticut, killing 168 people and injuring 550. Unbeknownst to the crowd, the tent had been waterproofed with a highly flammable mixture of parafin wax and gasoline. The disaster would affect fire codes for the rest of the century.