The Winecoff Fire - GHM 060-175 - Atlanta, GA
Posted by: 
Lat34North
N 33° 45.484 W 084° 23.264
16S E 741951 N 3738398
The marker is located in a small plaza side of the hotel along Margret Mitchell Square Ave.
Waymark Code: WM8D2D
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 03/14/2010
Views: 5
The Winecoff Fire
This is the site of the worst hotel fire in U. S. history. In the predawn hours of December 7, 1946 the Winecoff Hotel fire killed 119 people. The 15 - story building still stands adjacent to this marker. At the time, this building had neither fire escapes, fire doors, nor sprinklers. For two and a half hours, Atlanta fire fighters and others from nearby towns battled valiantly in the cold to save the majority of the 280 guests. But their ladders reached only to the eighth floor and their nets were not strong enough to withstand jumps of more than 70 feet. Therefore, numerous guests died on the sidewalks and in the alley behind the building. Thirty of the 119 victims were among Georgia´s most promising high school students, who had come to Atlanta to attend the YMCA´s Youth Assembly at the Capitol. The Winecoff fire became the watershed event in fire safety. Within days, cities across America began enacting more stringent safety ordinances. The fact that the Winecoff fire remains the worst hotel fire In U. S. history is testimony to its impact on modern fire safety codes.
This marker is dedicated to the victims, the survivors, and the firemen who fought the
Winecoff fire.
GHM 060-175 - GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION - 1994