Suddenly Tested: With Lives In The Balance

Mr. Goodwin,

Can you please tell me if there is a list anywhere of all the firefighters who were at this fire. My daughter and I have found much interest in this history and would like to know if my husband's grandfather was there that night. His name was Albert Lamar Fain. He lived in Austell Georgia until his death. Thank you.
God Bless,
Darla Fain

Dear Ms. Fain,

I am sad to read of the passing of Albert Fain. Yes, he was one of the Winecoff firefighters. I interviewed him in the middle 1980s. He humbly told me this story:

He and the others had fought their way up the stairwell dousing fire as they went. He was ordered to vent the roof, a procedure used in fighting any structure fire. Unlike most fires, the hotel's roof could not be reached from the outside so he was forced to make a heroic run for the roof up the remaining flights of stairs through heavy smoke.

As his energy was waining he reached the door and burst through it. He told me of the relief that came with his first gasp of fresh air as he arrived. He also told me when he got there, there was a small group of survivors who had migrated to the roof earlier.

I vividly recall leaving that interview content that I had just talked to a genuine hero, a man with more courage than me. He escorted me to my car and watched as I drove away. He was, I think, a little pleased that someone had come to ask.

Be proud, he earned it for you,
Allen B. Goodwin


Mr. Goodwin,

Thank you so much for your response. This brought tears to my eyes. The short time I knew him, I loved him. We have talked about this over time and I just did not know how I would get this information. My daughters, Kylie and Kelsey will be so thrilled to hear this news. I sure wish he were still here so we could ask him so many questions. He did live a great life.

That night was so long ago, however when you read the book, you feel as if you are there... and you feel their pain and fear.

I am so glad that you took the time to make this information available to us. God bless you. We as a family were proud of Granddaddy before.. but now this just makes us feel like we know more of him.
Thanks,
Darla Fain