Saving Lives After the Winecoff Hotel Fire
Saving lives during a hotel fire was one of the top concerns of the public after the large loss of life (119) at the Winecoff Hotel fire. Many letters were sent to the Atlanta Fire Department on how to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. One of the contributors to the large loss of life at the Winecoff was the fact that the fire department ladders could not reach the upper floors. As a result, many of the victims opted to jump from their windows to keep from being consumed by the flames. Having longer ladders may have indeed saved more lives. However, in reality, it would be impossible to have an aerial ladder that could reach the top floor on every building.Especially with our modern day skyscrapers. As you read these letters it may seem that some of the suggestions are a little far fetched. Keep in mind though, that the following suggestions were written well over 60 years ago. The following letter describes the use of a grenade launcher in saving lives at a hotel fire. The intent is to rescue those who may be trapped above the reach of fire department ladders.
Here is another suggestion from a concerned citizen regarding a similar rope rescue device.
The following is a letter to Fire Chief Styron which suggests using loud speakers mounted to sound trucks. The goal is to give people instructions to prevent them from jumping to their deaths.
This forward thinking citizen was definitely ahead of his time. Although his suggestion had merit, it would not be used by the Atlanta Fire department until April 12, 1999 at the Cotton Mill fire.
After reading this section on saving lives at hotel fires,click here to return to the Winecoff Hotel fire Information page
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