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Thursday, January 22, 2015
WHO IS LUKE BRONIN?
Watch Hartford Mayoral candidate Luke Bronin on "Face the State"
this Sunday at 11:00am on Channel 3
this Sunday at 11:00am on Channel 3
This Sunday at 11AM on WFSB Channel 3
Registrars, Taxes and Bathrooms
Guests: State Senator Bob Duff (D) Senate Majority
Leader
State Senator Rob Kane (R) Deputy Senate
Minority Leader
The race for Hartford Mayor
Guest: Luke Bronin (D) mayoral candidate
Flashback: Demolition of historic YMCA
Acrchive film from 1974
CHIEF HUERTAS RESPONDS TO CIRCUS FIRE PHOTO DESTRUCTION. WARNING - SENSITIVE PHOTO BELOW, USE DISCRETION WHEN VIEWING
WARNING-SENSITIVE PHOTO BELOW, USE DISCRETION VIEWING
FROM CHIEF HUERTAS:
Hartford Fire Chief Carlos Huertas today responded to my posting from yesterday regarding the destruction of photos from the Hartford Circus Fire.
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HUERTAS STATEMENT BELOW
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Soon to be retired Captain William Pond exercised poor judgment in removing photos from the quarters of Engine Co. 14. He has demonstrated a lack of professionalism in his decision to take matters in to his own hands and circumvented the process put forth to better handle the situation. The photos removed were found to be copies and have no intrinsic value. However, I will be taking the necessary actions to ensure the situation continues to be investigated in its entirety.****END OF STATEMENT*****
Below is apparently one of the photos in question, This is a morgue photo that was used to eventually identify the deceased victim known as little Miss 1565. This photo apparently drove Hartford Fire LT. Davey to persevere for years to continue to investigate the Circus fire and eventually identify Little Miss 1565 as Eleanor Cook. Her body, after being identified, was eventually exhumed from its grave at Northwoods Cemetery in Hartford and reunited with her family at their plot in Longmeadow , MA
Pond announced his retirement, his last day is tomorrow.
The picture below is apparently what has started the uproar. I apologize for posting it but I think it is important to put this matter in perspective
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| The Day the Clowns Cried, the Hartford Circus Fire |
FROM CHIEF HUERTAS:
Hartford Fire Chief Carlos Huertas today responded to my posting from yesterday regarding the destruction of photos from the Hartford Circus Fire.
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HUERTAS STATEMENT BELOW
***********************************************************************************
Soon to be retired Captain William Pond exercised poor judgment in removing photos from the quarters of Engine Co. 14. He has demonstrated a lack of professionalism in his decision to take matters in to his own hands and circumvented the process put forth to better handle the situation. The photos removed were found to be copies and have no intrinsic value. However, I will be taking the necessary actions to ensure the situation continues to be investigated in its entirety.****END OF STATEMENT*****
Below is apparently one of the photos in question, This is a morgue photo that was used to eventually identify the deceased victim known as little Miss 1565. This photo apparently drove Hartford Fire LT. Davey to persevere for years to continue to investigate the Circus fire and eventually identify Little Miss 1565 as Eleanor Cook. Her body, after being identified, was eventually exhumed from its grave at Northwoods Cemetery in Hartford and reunited with her family at their plot in Longmeadow , MA
Pond announced his retirement, his last day is tomorrow.
The picture below is apparently what has started the uproar. I apologize for posting it but I think it is important to put this matter in perspective
Alittle more about Lt Rick Davey and his quest for the truth, from a Newweek article:
For 47 years she was known as "Little
Miss 1565." On July 6, 1944, as 7,000 people in Hartford, Conn., watched the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus perform, the Big Top burst into
flames. When the inferno subsided, its cause was a mystery and 168 people were
dead, including an 8-year-old child lying unclaimed in the morgue with a toe tag
numbered 1565.
Haunted by a morgue photograph, Lt. Rick
Davey, 42, investigator for the Hartford Fire Department, decided to find out
who she was. Beginning in 1982, he studied files and interviewed old-timers. He
publicly identified her last month as Eleanor Cook.
If Davey could solve that mystery, what
about the fire itself? At the time, the police concluded that a dropped
cigarette, probably igniting the tent, caused the fire. But Davey found
witnesses who said the flames started high on the tent wall. Davey even tracked
down a possible arsonist: a 14-year-old circus worker. Davey's suspect, now 61
and living in Ohio, denies setting the circus fire, He later served time for
arson elsewhere, which he allegedly confessed to committing after "frustrating"
sexual experiences. Connecticut officials are reviewing the case to determine
whether it was arson or an accident. Says Davey: "These [fire victims], even in
death, have a right to expect that the truth be known."
The Circus fire always had an interest to me . At the time I was born at Saint Francis, many years after the fire, my mothers roommate was a surviving victim of the Circus Fire also giving birth at the time. My mother and Barbara stayed in touch and became friends .Coincidentally my father and her husband eventually became employed at the old Hartford Gas Company. I remember at a young age going to their beach house one summer and noticing the scars on her body, arm and legs and chest, and my mother explained to me the devastating effects and the story of the Circus Fire and that those were burn scars covering her body . Apparently her mother and sister were also trapped in the tent and burned , fortunately all 3 survived I didn't realize the damage at the time, but as an adult I can only imagine the pain and agony they went through as well as the terror trying to escape that tent My grandmothers cousin, Michael Godfrey was also Hartford's Police Chief at the time and I remember photos of him from various reports with the burning tent and devastation as a backdrop behind him, not to mention the pictures of the limo style sedan he was chauffeured in by his police driver. Times have changed.
The Circus fire always had an interest to me . At the time I was born at Saint Francis, many years after the fire, my mothers roommate was a surviving victim of the Circus Fire also giving birth at the time. My mother and Barbara stayed in touch and became friends .Coincidentally my father and her husband eventually became employed at the old Hartford Gas Company. I remember at a young age going to their beach house one summer and noticing the scars on her body, arm and legs and chest, and my mother explained to me the devastating effects and the story of the Circus Fire and that those were burn scars covering her body . Apparently her mother and sister were also trapped in the tent and burned , fortunately all 3 survived I didn't realize the damage at the time, but as an adult I can only imagine the pain and agony they went through as well as the terror trying to escape that tent My grandmothers cousin, Michael Godfrey was also Hartford's Police Chief at the time and I remember photos of him from various reports with the burning tent and devastation as a backdrop behind him, not to mention the pictures of the limo style sedan he was chauffeured in by his police driver. Times have changed.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
THE ENGINE 14 EXORCISMS
![]() |
| HARTFORD CIRCUS FIRE |
The e-mail below was sent by Captain William Pond of the Hartford Fire Department to Chief Huertas. Apparently Pond took exception with several framed pictures of a victim of the Hartford Circus fire Eleanor Cook, known as Little Miss 1565 for years.
The best-known victim of the circus fire was a young blonde girl wearing a white dress. She is known only as "Little Miss 1565", named after the number assigned to her body at the city's makeshift morgue. Oddly well preserved even after her death, her face has become arguably the most familiar image of the fire.
Her true identity has been a topic of debate and frustration in the Hartford area since the fire occurred. She was buried without a name in Hartford's Northwood cemetery, where a victims' memorial also stands. Two police investigators, Sergeant's. Thomas Barber and Edward Lowe, photographed her and took fingerprints, footprints, and dental charts. Despite massive publicity and repeated displays of the famous photograph in nationwide magazines, she was never claimed. Barber and Lowe spent the rest of their lives trying to identify her. They decorated her grave with flowers each Christmas, Memorial Day, and July 6.. After their deaths, a local flower company continued to decorate the grave. In 1991, the body was declared to be that of Eleanor Emily Cook, despite the fact that her aunt and uncle had examined the body and it did not fit the description they provided. The Connecticut State Police forensics unit compared hair samples and determined they were probably from the same person. The body was exhumed in 1991 and buried next to her brother, Edward, who had also died in the fire. Apparently Captain Pond took exception with photos that were supposed to be used after the fire to identify victims, the photos had been posted inside engine 14 for their historic value since the house had been built. The historic value of the pictures is indisputable.
Despite the historic value, Pond for some reason felt he needed to destroy the pictures to bring peace to Cook's soul. According to his e-mail he took the pictures home and burned the pictures in his fireplace as he prayed for the "poor girls" soul. It is unknown as to what authority Pond felt he had to destroy property of the Hartford Fire Department, property of such historic value. This needs to be investigated thoroughly and appropriate action taken immediately.
Pictures or property of such a historic value that are destroyed have removed a part of Hartford's history that can never be replaced. This is inexcusable and probably criminal as well
THE E-MAIL
From: "Pond, William"
Date:01/15/2015 8:25 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: "Huertas, Carlos M."
Subject:
Chief Huertas
I received your voice mail and will respond to it in writing. When originally assigned to engine 14 in the summer of 1990 I objected to the naked deceased pictures of Eleanor Cook displayed in the hallway. I objected verbally to every house Captain through my career where my efforts proved fruitless. My first order of business as house Captain was to remove them from display.
I was afraid after retirement they would be placed back on the wall where this poor girls soul would never rest. I removed them today and at my home prayed for peace for Eleanor and burned them in my fireplace. I hope you understand and also the Cook family had no knowledge that there loved one was publicly displayed in this horrific manor.
Respectfully Submitted
William Pond
Portions of this posting obtained through Wikipedia
WALLER AGAIN
The Hartford Courant ran a story this morning detailing the latest complaint against the Hartford Fire Department and former acting Assistant Chief Terry Waller. The complaint was made by Captain Luis Ocasio who apparently felt his career was being threatened by Waller if he didn't lie at a hearing before the Connecticut Department of Health to cover for another firefighter .
Here is Captain Ocasio's complaint below
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
GOING VIRAL
That is how the Springfield Republican has described the story of the Connecticut Legislator parking illegally in a handicap space. In a story posted tonight they described that as the response on their website masslive.com , you can view that story and related video here.
Although I am pretty sure that Representative Mcgee is not happy with the attention. I hope at the very least it has brought attention to the illegal practice of using handicap spaces for a quick convenience for able bodied drivers.
And I loved this line from the article "A state lawmaker was left with egg on his face – or possibly jelly from a doughnut – after he was caught parking his Beamer in a handicapped parking spot at a Hartford Dunkin' Donuts on Friday."
Although I am pretty sure that Representative Mcgee is not happy with the attention. I hope at the very least it has brought attention to the illegal practice of using handicap spaces for a quick convenience for able bodied drivers.
And I loved this line from the article "A state lawmaker was left with egg on his face – or possibly jelly from a doughnut – after he was caught parking his Beamer in a handicapped parking spot at a Hartford Dunkin' Donuts on Friday."
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