11/21/2017 MGM Grand re - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 360651N 1151020W

MGMGrandfire
The MGMGrandfire occurred on November 21, 1980 at the MGM Grand
Hotel and Casino (now Bally's Las Vegas) in Paradise, Nevada, USA. The fire
MGM Grand re
killed 85 people, most through smoke inhalation.[1] The tragedy remains the
worst disaster in Nevada history, and the third-worst hotel fire in modern
U.S. history, after the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta that killed 119
people and the Dupont Plaza Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico fire on December
31, 1986, in which 97 perished.

Date November21,1980
Contents
Venue MGM Grand Hotel and
1 Description Casino
2 Cause
Location Paradise, Nevada
3 Sprinkler rule exceptions
Type Fire
4 Aftermath
Cause Accidental
5 See also
6 References Deaths 78 civilians

7 External links 7 employees

Non-fatal 588 civilians

injuries 25 employees
Description 14 reghters
At the time of the fire, approximately 5,000 people were in the hotel and
casino, a 26-story luxury resort with more than 2,000 hotel rooms.[2] At approximately 7:07a.m. on November 21, 1980, a
fire broke out in a restaurant known as The Deli. It spread across the areas of the casino in which no fire sprinklers were
installed. The fire spread to the lobby, fed by wallpaper, PVC piping, glue, and plastic mirrors, racing through the casino
floor at a rate of 1519ft (4.65.8m) per second until a massive fireball blew out the main entrance along The Strip. Seven
people died in the casino.

The burning material created toxic fumes and smoke, which ascended throughout the hotel tower via vertical shafts
(elevators and stairwells) and seismic joints and caused the majority of the deaths.[3]

The Clark County Fire Department was the first agency to respond. Other agencies included the North Las Vegas Fire
Department, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, and the Henderson Fire Department. A massive helicopter rescue effort from Nellis
Air Force Base pulled 1,000 people from the roof of the MGM Grand, involving both U.S. Air Force UH-1N (Hueys) from
the 57th Wing based in Indian Springs and CH-3E (Jolly Green Giants) from the 1st Special Operations Wing based in
Hurlburt Field, Florida (which were in Nevada to participate in Red Flag '80).

A total of 85 people were killed and 650 injured, including guests, employees, and 14 firefighters.[1] While the fire primarily
damaged the second-floor casino and adjacent restaurants, 61 deaths were on the upper floors of the hotel, mostly in the
stairwells, where all doors except on the roof and ground floor were locked. Some guests died in their sleep.

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75 people died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning; four from smoke inhalation alone; three from
burns and smoke inhalation; one from burns alone; one from massive skull trauma, caused by jumping from a high
window; and one of myocarditis.[1] The disaster led to the general publicizing of the fact that during a building fire, smoke
inhalation is a more serious threat than flames.

Cause
The fire was caused by an electrical ground fault inside a wall socket.[4][5] A refrigerated pastry display case was added,
after original construction of the hotel, to one of its restaurants (known as The Deli). Unlike a modern display case, which
would be totally self-contained (compressor installed in bottom of display case), this unit functioned like a walk-in cooler
or central air conditioning system, with a pair of copper refrigerant lines connecting its evaporator to a condensing unit
located outside the building. When this set-up was installed, the copper lineset were run through the same wall soffit as a
pre-existing electrical conduit, and were in physical contact with the conduit.

The fan-forced evaporator unit in the display case was not properly secured, and thus was able to vibrate constantly while
in operation; these vibrations were carried along the copper refrigerant lines, causing the pipes to rub against the electrical
conduit in the wall soffit and make them vibrate as well. Through a combination of galvanic corrosion (where the copper
refrigerant pipes were in physical contact with the aluminum electrical conduit, causing the conduit to erode over time),
and vibration as well as jagged edges and stretched wires resulting from poor workmanship during the installation the
electrical wires inside the conduit ended up missing chunks of their plastic insulation, and the conduit was rendered un-
grounded (there was no separate ground wire; the metal conduit itself was designed to function as the ground, so the
disintegration of the conduit rendered the system un-grounded).

These now-bare electrical conductors inside the un-grounded metal conduit glowed red-hot and began arcing, which
ignited the fire.[1]

Due to faulty smoke dampers within the ventilation duct network, the toxic fumes circulated throughout the hotel's air
conditioning system, accelerating the spread of the poisonous gases.[6]

The fire was confined to the casino and restaurant areas. The hotel was equipped with a fire sprinkler system that
performed properly by keeping the fire out of other sections of the building. The area with the most fire prevention was in
the money counting area, not in individual rooms or on the casino floor. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
studies show that in this fire the hotel occupants did not exhibit panic behavior. Instead, many took rational steps to
preserve their lives. Examples of this include putting towels around doors (to block out smoke), notifying other occupants,
offering refuge in their rooms, and using wet towels for their faces.

Sprinklerruleexceptions
The casino and restaurants were not protected by a fire sprinkler system because they were exempt from rules requiring
fire sprinklers in areas occupied 24 hours a day.[4] A Clark County building inspector granted the exemptiondespite the
opposition of fire marshalsreasoning that a fire would be quickly noticed by occupants and contained with portable fire
extinguishers. When the fire broke out in The Deli restaurant it was no longer open 24 hours per day; in fact it was closed
and unoccupied.[7]

Aftermath

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The hotel was repaired and improved,[8] including the addition of fire sprinklers and an automatic fire alarm system
throughout the property.[9] The hotel was sold to Bally's Entertainment, which changed the name to Bally's Las Vegas.
Similar upgrades were also made to the nearly identical property (now the Grand Sierra Resort) in Reno, Nevada. The
tower in which most of the deaths occurred is still operating as part of the hotel today. A second tower opened in 1981. The
present MGM Grand hotel-casino was built to the south, near the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana
Avenue.

On February 10, 1981, just 90 days after the MGM fire, another fire broke out at the Las Vegas Hilton, killing at least five
people.[10] Because of the two incidents, there was a major reformation of fire safety guidelines and codes. All buildings
open to the public in Nevada were required to have fire sprinklers, smoke detectors in rooms and elevators, and exit maps
in all hotel rooms. This law went into effect in 1981 and made Nevada a leader in fire safety regulation. [11]

Seealso
History of hotel res in the United States
Skyscraper re

References
1. "MGM Fire Investigation Report" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131109190735/http://re.co.clark.nv.us/%28S%28gtg
op1ers1xz2gkadvhp1w1u%29%29/Files/pdfs/MGM_FIRE.pdf) (PDF). Clark County Fire Department. Archived from
the original (http://re.co.clark.nv.us/(S(gtgop1ers1xz2gkadvhp1w1u))/Files/pdfs/MGM_FIRE.pdf) (PDF) on November
9, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
2. (Best & Demers 1982, p.vi)
3. (Best & Demers 1982, p.26)
4. Marsha Giesler (8 November 2016). Fire and Life Safety Educator: Principles and Practice (https://books.google.com/
books?id=el6HDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA12). Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp.12. ISBN978-1-284-04197-2.
5. Earl W. Roberts (1 September 2000). Overcurrents and Undercurrents: All About Gfcls and Afcls (https://books.googl
e.com/books?id=Gw8AWhpk-PQC). Reptec. ISBN978-0-9674323-1-1.
6. John Mittendorf; Dave Dodson (7 January 2015). The Art of Reading Buildings (https://books.google.com/books?id=F
TzABgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60). Fire Engineering Books. pp.60. ISBN978-1-59370-342-4.
7. Morrison, Jane Ann (November 20, 2005). "IN DEPTH: MGM GRAND HOTEL FIRE: 25 YEARS LATER: Disaster
didn't have to be" (https://web.archive.org/web/20121013202205/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Nov-2
0-Sun-2005/news/4306613.html). Las Vegas Review Journal. Archived from the original (http://www.reviewjournal.co
m/lvrj_home/2005/Nov-20-Sun-2005/news/4306613.html) on October 13, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
8. Janice Oberding (11 August 2013). Haunted Nevada: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Silver State (https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=69-3DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA89). Stackpole Books. pp.89. ISBN978-0-8117-5295-4.
9. IDG Enterprise (30 March 1981). Computerworld (https://books.google.com/books?id=FN6d3fuFnLQC&pg=PA46).
IDG Enterprise. pp.46. ISSN0010-4841 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0010-4841).
10. "Killer re sweeps LV Hilton" (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/1981/feb/11/killer-re-sweeps-lv-hilton/?history). Las
Vegas Sun. February 11, 1981. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
11. Christian, Susan (November 18, 1990). "Burning Memories: Ten years later, survivors continue to relive the MGM
Grand re" (http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-18/news/vw-6610_1_mgm-grand). The L.A. Times. p.3. Retrieved
October 19, 2017.

Best, Richard; Demers, David P. (January 15, 1982). "Investigation report on the MGM hotel re" (http://www.nfpa.org/
~/media/Files/Press%20Room/lasvegasmgmgrand.pdf) (PDF). National Fire Protection Association. Retrieved
August 17, 2014.
Bryan, John (1992). Human Behavior and Fire. In Arthur Cote (ed.) NFPA Handbook, Section 7, Chapter 1. Quincy
MA: NFPA. ISBN0-87765-378-X
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