Stratosphere Balloon Destroyed by Fire -- The blazing balloon surrounded by clouds of black smoke as it came down to earth.Professor Piccard's balloon, in which he was about he make an attempt to rise to the stratosphere by hot air, caught fire while being heated today and was entirely destroyed. The flight was to have been made from Zellich, near Brussels. It was the same one as used by Piccard in 1932. May 25, 1937. (Photo by Keystone).