Constructed from bricks and stone, the Winecoff Hotel was known as one of the fanciest, most glamorous hotels in the Southeastern United States. The hotel was built in 1913, and it was touted as being “fireproof”. As such, there was no sprinkler system or fire escape plan in motion. Unfortunately, this resulted in the death of 120 people. On December 7, 1946, a fire broke out in the hotel, and people died from the fire and from jumping trying to escape the blaze. Much like the Titanic claiming to be “unsinkable”, the Winecoff’s reputation for being “fireproof” was false.
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