The Winecoff Hotel Fire In American History

Ever since mankind initially began building structures out of wood rather than stone, fire and its effects have been a part of the knowledgeable development. Therefore, since the dawn of man, from the early beginnings to the present, fire has been a constant threat, and every era has illustrations of firefighting at its most intense. Fire Departments are filled with extraordinary stories of heroism, tragedy, and textbook examples of overcoming adversity. Fire is a living, consuming, deadly and defiant enemy.

The deadliest and notorious hotel fire in U.S. American history was the Winecoff Hotel. The hotel was located in downtown Atlanta, GA and in the early hours of December 7, 1946 a fire sore through the establishment and claimed the lives of 119 hotel occupants, one of them is the hotel 's owners, while 90 others were injured. The Winecoff Hotel was publicized as absolutely fireproof, even though it was designed without fire alarms, fire escapes or a sprinkler system. But, everything good, bad, improbable and certain about the human experience played out.

A marred, blemish and flawed building design and

The hotels inner construction was a textbook square with the stairwell and elevator shafts running straight through the central, based on European design. The Atlanta’s building code of 1911 allowed businesses with lots less than 5,000 square feet only required a single stairway. Doors manufactured and were made of wood with porthole panels above for ventilation while the walls were painted with burlap like fabric that extended to the ceilings, therefore encumbering a conceivable cataclysmic reaction. Thin wooden doors leading to the stairwells had been left open on several floors as well as many transoms above guest rooms allowed smoke and flames to be pulled upward like a colossal