On This Date: November 21, 1980 The MGM Grand’s Fire Disaster

November 21, 2019
MGM Grand Fire November 21,1980

MGM Grand Fire November 21, 1980

The MGM Grand fire occurred on November 21, 1980 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (now Bally’s Las Vegas) in Las Vegas, located on the corner of Flamingo Road and the Las Vegas Blvd. The fire killed 85 people, mostly through smoke inhalation. The tragedy remains the worst disaster in Nevada history, and the third-worst hotel fire in modern U.S. history. The fire was caused by an electrical ground fault inside a wall from a restaurant call “The Deli” located on the the south end of the casino.

MGM Grand ( now Bally's) Worst Fire Disaster in Nevada's History on Nov. 21, 1980

MGM Grand (now Bally’s) Worst Fire Disaster in Nevada’s History on Nov. 21, 1980

Fire spread across the areas of the casino in which no fire sprinklers were installed. Smoke spread into the hotel tower. A total of 85 people were killed and 650 injured, including guests, employees and 14 firefighters. While the fire primarily damaged the second floor casino and adjacent restaurants, most of the deaths were on the upper floors of the hotel, and were caused by smoke inhalation. Openings in vertical shafts (elevators and stairwells) and seismic joints allowed toxic smoke to spread to the top floor.

The fire at the MGM lead to new strict fire regulations for all hotels and commercial buildings in Nevada and are consider the most

Photo by: Wikipedia.org

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