The “absolutely fireproof” Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, site of the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history, is set to reopen soon:
On Dec. 6, 1946, fire broke out on the third floor of the Winecoff, which had 280 occupants at the time. Most of the deaths were caused by smoke inhalation, but some people died from falling or jumping out windows to escape the flames and smoke.
The fire’s cause was officially listed as unknown, but in a 1993 book “The Winecoff Fire” authors Sam Heys and Allen Goodwin outlined suspicions that it was arson.
The hotel lacked fire-safety measures now common in public buildings, such as sprinkler systems and corner stairwells or other fire escapes. The Winecoff fire, combined with two other deadly fires in the U.S. that year, led officials to create model fire safety codes for cities. The updated codes required sprinklers, multiple exits and bans on flammable materials in buildings.
It must be haunted. We should have a campout there with portable, low-quality recorders to try to capture some EVPs.
Amber and I have been wondering why everything described as (something)-proof seems to be part of a tragedy involving (something). The Titanic being the obvious example. I don’t believe in God, but the apparent karmic payback levied on anyone with enough hubris to make such a ridiculous statement does make me wonder if there’s something supernatural charged with balancing the universe.
A Google search for The Winecoff Fire turns up a blog that appears to be maintained by the authors of the book mentioned in the article. Check it out.
h/t Cracker Squire
I think I’ll start labeling myself as “absolutely babe-proof” and pray for the best.
I think it’s the fact that these tragedies become noteworthy that makes you think there’s such a correlation. In the end, if there are 100,000 hotels that call themselves fire-proof, and 99,999 don’t burn down, nobody hears about it or thinks much of it, but the one that burned down makes it seem like it’s really bad luck.
It’s like the “no atheists in foxholes” dictum. If 10,000 atheist soldiers in a massive battle find Jesus as the shells rain down on them and all but 100 are killed, those 100 are going to have great stories about how their conversion saved their lives. It didn’t work out so well for the 9900 who converted, prayed for safety, and died anyway, but they aren’t exactly around to talk about it.
I take your point.
To refute, I think that there is a very real correlation between the kind of hubris that causes people to name things as “_____proof” and the kind of hubris which causes people to believe that they can get away with cutting the corners which always end up being linchpin factors in the tragedies in question. It’s less like “no atheists in foxholes” and more like building the Hindenburg even though a military embargo from the world’s largest supplier of helium will force you to use hydrogen as ballast.
i think it wrong to reopen the winecoff
as a new hotel. they should have tore it
down make the site in to a park for the
guest that lost there lives