MGM Grand fire
The former MGM Grand (now Bally's) as seen from Caesars Palace.
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| Date | November 21, 1980 |
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| Venue | MGM Grand Hotel and Casino |
| Location | Paradise, Nevada |
| Type | Fire |
| Cause | Accidental |
| Deaths |
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| Non-fatal injuries |
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The MGM Grand fire occurred on November 21, 1980 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (now Bally's Las Vegas) in Paradise, Nevada, USA. The fire killed 85 people, most through smoke inhalation. 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.
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. Approximately 7:07 a.m. on November 21, 1980, a fire broke out in a restaurant known as The Deli. 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. U.S. Air Force UH-1N (Huey) from the Detachment 1, 57th FWW out of Indian Springs NV, and CH-3E (Jolly Green Giant) helicopters from the 1st Special Operations Wing out of Hurlburt Field, FL (which were deployed to Nellis AFB to participate in Red Flag '80) were the main part of a helicopter rescue effort that pulled 1,000 people from the roof of the MGM Grand. 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.
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