Fire Codes connecticut was firehose pythons wrapped waiting through the tent and leaking water expectantly we teased the firemen wore their hats and jackets in exchange for autographs wore away the waiting together a circus hasn't played hartford since july 6, 1944 they say it took six minutes and the whole tent lifted up like a paper balloon on fire we learned on the first day that when they play "Stars and Stripes" it means trouble and when you hear it to grab a prop and run inside as we pulled out of the lot that night they coiled the hoses back into the engines lit flashing red lights blazing around them