In the early morning of December 7, 1946, a fire broke out at the Wincoff Hotel in Atlanta. The Winecoff had just one exit stairway, no fire alarms and no fire sprinklers. So, by the time the flames were contained, 119 people had perished. The Winecoff tragedy was the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history. But at least it prompted municipalities around the country to change their fire codes.

Even so, more than 6 decades later, hotel fires remain a danger. A new report from FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) documents the extent of the problem. Here are the statistical highlights:

• 3,900 The approximate number of hotel and motel fires in the U.S. each year

• 15 The number of deaths caused by those fires

• 150 The number of civilian injuries suffered in those fires

• 76 million Dollars in property losses resulting from those fires

• 46 The percentage of hotel and motel fires caused by cooking (the leading cause)

• 18 The percentage of fires that spread beyond the room in which they break out—the leading cause of fires that spread is electrical malfunction (24%)

According to FEMA, hotel and motel fires are most likely to occur (17%) during the evening hours of 6 to 9 p.m. The number of fires is highest in the winter months when heating systems are operating. Although cooking is the leading cause of fires, 97% of such fires are confined to the room of origin.

Source: “Hotel and Motel Fires,” FEMA, Topical Fire Report Series, Vol. 10, Issue 4, January 2010. See,

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/tfrs/v10i4.pdf

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