Winecoff Hotel fire
The former Winecoff Hotel, now the Ellis Hotel
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| Date | December 7, 1946 |
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| Venue | Winecoff Hotel |
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 33°45′30″N 84°23′16″W / 33.7583°N 84.3878°WCoordinates: 33°45′30″N 84°23′16″W / 33.7583°N 84.3878°W |
| Type | Fire |
| Cause | Unknown |
| Deaths | 119 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 65 |
The Winecoff Hotel fire of December 7, 1946, was the deadliest hotel fire in United States history, killing 119 hotel occupants, including the hotel's owners. Located at 176 Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States, the Winecoff Hotel was advertised as "absolutely fireproof". While the hotel's steel structure was indeed protected against the effects of fire, the hotel's interior finishes were combustible, and the building's exit arrangements consisted of a single stairway serving all fifteen floors. All of the hotel's occupants above the fire's origin on the third floor were trapped, and the fire's survivors either were rescued from upper-story windows or jumped into nets held by firemen. The fire was notable for the number of victims who jumped to their deaths. A photograph of one survivor's fall won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. The fire, which followed the June 5, 1946, La Salle Hotel fire in Chicago with 61 fatalities, and the June 19, 1946, Canfield Hotel fire in Dubuque, Iowa, with 19 fatalities, spurred significant changes in North American building codes, most significantly requiring multiple protected means of egress and self-closing fire-resistive doors for guest rooms in hotels.
The Winecoff Hotel (now the Ellis Hotel) opened in 1913 as one of the tallest buildings in Atlanta. The steel-framed structure was built on a small lot measuring 62.75 feet (19.13 m) by 70 feet (21 m), bounded by Peachtree Street, Ellis Street and an alley, with 4,386 square feet (407.5 m2) per floor. Guest rooms extended from the third to the fifteenth floors, with fifteen rooms on a typical floor. Corridors on guest floors were arranged in an H-shape, with two elevators and the upward flights of stairs opening into the cross halls, and opposing downward runs of stairs converging on a single landing from the legs of the H. The single stairway, of non-combustible construction, was not enclosed with fire-resistant doors. While the use of multiple stairways was becoming common practice in tall buildings, the Atlanta Building Code of 1911 permitted buildings on lots of less than 5,000 square feet (460 m2) to have a single stairway. The steel structure was protected by structural clay tile and concrete fireproofing. The hotel was touted in advertisements and on its stationery as "absolutely fireproof".
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