Atlanta Firefighter Remembers 1946 Winecoff Hotel Fire

Imagine being able to talk to someone who was at the Winecoff Hotel fire.

To hear the first-hand account of the deadliest hotel fire in America's history would not be something that you would want to pass up.

Keep in mind that this tragic fire happened back in December of 1946, over 60 years ago!

Now imagine talking to someone who was not only at the Winecoff Hotel fire but was one of the firefighters that actually fought the fire.

Well no need to imagine because its already happened.

While researching an article on the Winecoff Hotel fire for Firehouse magazine, I had the privilege of interviewing retired Battalion Chief T.H. Roberts.

At the time of the fire, Roberts was a private with the Atlanta Fire Department. Although the Winecoff Hotel fire was a long time ago, Chief Roberts had no problem in recalling the details of that December night.

I could tell that talking about the fire was not a pleasant thing for Roberts. But by the same token, I think that perhaps discussing the Winecoff Hotel fire may have in some way helped.

If nothing else, perhaps others will have some idea of what it was like.

There is really no way that words will ever be able to adequately describe the events of December 7, 1946.

However, this article about the Winecoff Hotel fire will give you a glimpse of what happened, as told by Chief Roberts.

The Winecoff Hotel Fire
"An Awful Fire"

Private T. H. Roberts was on watch the morning the alarm came in for the 15-story brick building located at the corner of Peachtree and Ellis. The address of 176 Peachtree Street was one of Atlanta’s finest hotels, and with the majority of the guests still asleep, there was a high potential for loss of life. Quickly sounding the station gong, Roberts rang out the rest of the crew and then scrambled for the 85-foot aerial. The alarm had come in just after 3:30 a.m., which meant the downtown streets would be empty and there would be nothing to get in the way of the responding American LaFrance. As “Betsy” sped towards the hotel, the men from Fire Station number 1 were unaware that they would soon battle a fire that would claim the lives of 119 people.

Nor did they realize that 60 years later this mass casualty alarm would remain America’s deadliest hotel fire.

Still haunted by the sights and sounds of that tragic morning retired Battalion Chief T.H. “Rick” Roberts remembers the call as if it were only yesterday. Although reluctant to relive that “awful fire” on Peachtree Street he feels that it is a story that needs to be told and provided this interview for Firehouse magazine. The following is a first-hand account of an Atlanta firefighter who responded to the Winecoff Hotel fire on December 7, 1946.

“When we pulled up in front of the hotel, fire and smoke was coming out of the windows on the 3rd and 11th floors, but none from the floors in-between. People had tied sheets together and were hanging out of the windows. Captain Anderson ordered our crew to raise the aerial to the 4th, 5th and 6th floors.” Several factors contributed to the large number of occupants in need of immediate rescue. Having been built in 1913, the existing codes did not require that the Winecoff be equipped with fire escapes or a sprinkler system. In addition, there were no enclosures to protect the open stairwells from smoke and fire. Unchecked, the early morning blaze had accelerated up the stairs cutting off any means of escape. As a result, the trapped occupants quickly realized that their only hope for rescue would be from the windows.

“Our 85-foot aerial had all wooden ladders and was mounted on a turntable. The ladder had to be sprung out of its bed by kicking a lever that released a big spring, which would then raise the ladder up about 10 feet. The crew then had to crank the ladder up by turning the crank wheels.” In order to execute the rescues it was necessary for the driver, J.P. Sorrow, to move the “big stick” back and forth so that the firefighters could reach the people in the windows. “David White and I were the only two to climb the aerial ladder on the Peachtree Street side, which was the front of the hotel. We brought people down from the 4th, 5th and 6th floors. The 6th floor was as high as the aerial could reach.”

The official fire department operations report would later show that nearly 30 people were saved with the aerial ladder from station number 1. The total would have been higher had some of the occupants not jumped prior to the ladder reaching them. Of the 119 fatalities, 31 died from injuries, most likely as a result of jumping.

During the ladder operations Roberts recalls rescuing an infant.

“I was handed a baby by a man and woman from the 6th floor. The baby looked to be about 8 months old. I carried it down the ladder to the street and handed it to some lady.” Although the firefighters for the most part would never know the fate of those they rescued, this particular baby was an exception. In 1996, Chief Roberts attended a commemorative event honoring the survivors of the Winecoff fire. It was there that Roberts says, “I got to meet that baby 50 years later.”

After rescuing all those that could be reached with the 85-foot aerial, Captain Anderson ordered the men to place the Life Net into operation.

“Myself and two other fireman were holding the net along with a policeman and some civilians.” Roughly 12 feet in diameter, the canvass net required 12 to 15 people to man. “We actually had some people to try and jump from the higher floors. Two women and a young boy were at a window on the 11th floor. One of the women jumped and hit exactly the way you are supposed to hit in the net. She went up about six feet into the air and came down perfect. She jumped out of the net to the sidewalk and let out a blood-curdling laugh and ran off. The other woman dropped the young boy at the net, but he didn’t make it. Gravity pulled him back into the building two or three times. Then he hit the sidewalk. The other lady then jumped but she hit the rim of the net on her back and she died also.”

Several of the firefighters on the scene were injured from the falling bodies.

“Jack Burnham was hit while he was climbing the ladder by a person who had jumped from the 10th or 11th floor. It hurt him so bad that he had to take retirement. I know when we were at the scene of the fire that people would jump and hit the marquee, wires and other objects. We had to use hand ladders to get the bodies from the over hang in front of the hotel entrance. One woman who jumped from the 10th or 11th floor was caught by a hanging wire and survived.”

When there were no other rescues to be performed using the Life Net, the men from Station 1 went inside the building to help the other companies.

“Our Captain took us into the hotel so as to help bring people down the narrow stairwells to the street. Some were dead, some alive. We also found children and older people in their beds on the upper floors. They looked to be asleep but they were dead.” The coroner’s report listed a total of 40 victims who had died due to suffocation and another 48 had perished as a result of burns. One of the contributing factors to these statistics was due to open transoms above the room doors, which allowed smoke and fire into the sleeping areas.

“After the fire was out and all the people removed we were ordered to get our equipment and return back to our station. This was on Saturday morning in which my shift was off for 24 hours. We then had to return back to work on Sunday morning December 8, 1946. This is just a part of my true story of the Winecoff hotel fire. Other fireman who answered this alarm have a story of what happened on the fire scene.”

At the time of the Winecoff Hotel fire the Atlanta Fire Department worked a two-platoon system. Due to the magnitude of the fire, Chief C.C. Styron eventually issued a general alarm, which included the recall of all off-duty personnel as well as mutual aid. A total of 32 engines, 5 aerial ladder trucks, 6 service ladder trucks, a salvage and rescue truck and a flood light truck were called to the scene.

T. H. “Rick” Roberts continued his career with the Atlanta Fire Department and retired as a Battalion Chief in 1976.

The 15-story brick building once known as the Winecoff Hotel still stands at the corner of Peachtree and Ellis. Currently in the process of being remodeled, it has been totally gutted and is only a shell of what it used to be. Although the name of the hotel has changed through out the years, the address of 176 Peachtree Street has remained the same. There is something else that has remained constant for the past 60 years. The memories of an awful fire on Peachtree Street and an Atlanta firefighter who fought America’s deadliest hotel fire.

Editor’s note: There has always been a debate as to whether the Winecoff fire was accidental or arson. Be sure to read the full account in the book: The Winecoff Fire, The Untold Story of America’s Deadliest Hotel Fire by Sam Heys and Allen Goodwin.

Chief Roberts agreed to this interview with only one stipulation, that he receive a copy of the article in this issue of Firehouse magazine. Here’s your copy Chief, with many thanks.

Each year on the anniversary of the fire, the media is faithful to refer us back to 1946. However, having some reporter on television tell us what happened is not the same as hearing it from someone who was actually there.

It is people like Chief Roberts and other survivors who bring the memories of the Winecoff Hotel fire to life.

Crew of Ladder Truck 1

Captain A. A. Anderson

Driver J.P. Sorrow

Tillerman Bobby Harper

Private Carl Sims

Private David White

Private T.H. (Rick) Roberts

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