The Hartford Circus Fire - Essay Example

Life Safety Affiliation THE HARTFORD CIRCUS FIRE The Hartford Circus fire occurred back in 1944 on the 6th of July in Hartford Connecticut. It was among the worst disasters in the United States fire history. The fire occurred at the time of an afternoon performance Barnum & Bailey Circus and Ringling Brothers and Barnum within which about 7000 people were in attendance. An estimation of 167 to 169 people died while more than 700 people got injured. It remains unclear on what caused the fire. Before real investigations were conducted, the conventional understanding believed that the fire had been caused by some discarded cigarette. Some people believe that someone at the toilet stated the fire. The cause of the fire is officially undetermined (KRAJICEK, 2014). Inexplicably, the show had no fire apparatus in place. There were 50 fire extinguishers in store as well as 4 circus fire trucks parked a quarter mile from the tent. No fire men had been assigned to the show. The municipal was found to have inadequacies; however, the fury of the city had been focused on the circus (KRAJICEK, 2014). There were a slew of fire code changes as a result of the event, for instance the use of flame retardant tents, fire extinguishers were required 50-100 ft as well as having CT state police and the local fire department at hand, at any under tent performances. It as well lead to the burn on using pyrotechnic as well as flame acts in the presence of audiences with no approval by means of state or local permit processes (KRAJICEK, 2014). THE HOUNTED CASTLE FIRE “The Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure” happened to be a haunted house attraction which was at Six Flags Adventure Enjoyment Park in the Jackson Township in New Jersey. It was on the 11th of May 1984 when 18 teenage visitors within this attraction only to lose their lives after the castle caught up on fire. Six Flags Great Adventure as well as its parent company, the Six Flags, were charged with manslaughter, accused of having recklessly causing death through failure to take adequate safety measures against the fire. The prosecution did argue that there lacked an adequate active fire protection system such as sprinklers and smoke detectors which the accused had ignored even after repeated warnings. The accused argued that it was arson and no measures would have helped in saving lives. They were found to be innocent of the matter (Kathleen, 2014). There was response from fire fighters from surrounding 11 communities. Causes of death were carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation. The fires lead to several other haunted house attractions in New Jersey being closed to wait for fire inspection. New laws on fire safety were passed in New Jersey and other states for dark rides as well as structures that disorients intentionally. The code required for smoke detection system for low lighting levels amusement buildings, an activation to sound an alarm at some constantly visited location within the building. The actuation of the sprinkler system or smoke detection system would lead to the enlightening in the means of way out t increase as we’ll as silence conflicting sounds and visuals (Kathleen, 2014). MORRO CASTLE FIRE THE SS Moro Castle was used to be a luxury ocean liner back in the 1930s that had been built for Ward Line to be running in between Havana, Cuba and New York City. On the eighth of September 1934, the Ship was on its way from Cuba to the city of New York when it caught fire then burned to kill 137 passengers as well as crew men. Eventually, the ship beached herself close to the Asbury Park, New Jersey then remained at the spot for a few months (Sea Girt Lighthouse, 2015 ). The SS Morro Castle fire resulted to faster improvement of Shipboard Fire Safety. The event lead to today’s fire retardant materials use, ship wide fire alarms, automatic fire doors as well as a greater attention to fire drills as well as procedures (Sea Girt Lighthouse, 2015 ). Most people died due to difficulties to breath caused by heavy smoke. Others died due to lack of knowledge on how to use preservers. Rescue efforts were very slow. The factors contributing to the fire included the ship design, construction material used (wooden and glued ply), crew practices were questionable as well s mistakes contributed highly to the fire spreading and destroying the ship eventually (Sea Girt Lighthouse, 2015 ). THE CHUNNEL TANNEL FIRE The Channel Tunnel fire that happened in 1996 on the 18th of November was on a train that carried Heavy Goods Vehicles as well as their drivers through Channel Tunnel towards the UK from France. The fire was detected as the train entered the tunnel and as per the policy of the time, the driver tried to drive to UK where this fire would be managed. The driver made a stop after the problem had become serious, 19 kilometers into the tunnel (Comeau, 2003). There was thick smoke in the passenger coach and the engine lost power. There was a delay in the tunnel ventilation system configuration. However, all crew and passengers were quite safe within the service tunnel and only had suffered minor injuries. Fire fighters from both the UK and France responded quickly and saved the passengers as well as the driver then fought the fire till it was over. HGV shuttles were supposed to ensure that the locomotive was detached from the passenger coach in case of a fire. However, that failed to be done. Recommendations were that alarms be treated with seriousness (Comeau, 2003). CONCLUSION The haunted castle fire took place 40 years after the Hartford Circus Fire when fire response seems to have been improved as shown by the fire fighters response. Both fires took place at places with no active fire protection system to assist contain the fires. Both fires happened in recreational areas and mostly killed young people. On the other end, the Morro Castle fire and the Channel tunnel fire happened in the transportation industry. Unlike for the Morro Castle Fire event, the Channel tunnel fire event fire response was very first and all the passengers were rescued. The crew in the SS Morro Castle are said t have made many mistakes as well as having questionable practices hence leading to more deaths. In the Channel Tunnel fire event, there was a failure with the HGV shuttles but luckily there were no fatalities. References Comeau. (2003). English Channel Tunnel Fire. NFPA Report , 1. Kathleen, R. (2014). Haunted by Fire. NFPA , 2. KRAJICEK, D. J. (2014). Mysterious blaze kills 186 in 1944 Connecticut circus horror. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS , 1. Sea Girt Lighthouse. (2015 ). The Morro Castle. Protecting the Show Since 1986 , 3. Read More