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What was the impact of the fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas?

On November 21, 1980, a short circuit in electrical wiring caused fire to break out at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Eighty-five people were killed and six hundred others were injured. Because it had taken eight years to construct the hotel, the building codes (regulations for safe building construction) had been improved and the hotel no longer met the standards for high-rise buildings. This tragedy alerted the public to the danger of smoke inhalation as many people were injured by smoke, not flames. It also made clear the need to retrofit buildings—that is, modify them to incorporate later improvements.

Further Information: Clark County Nevada Fire Department. The MGM Grand Hotel Fire Investigation Report. [Online] Available

eNotes Pass

1. Natural Disasters
   1. What are the largest volcanic eruptions in history?
   2. What were the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history?
   3. What is the strongest earthquake measured?
   4. What is the strongest earthquake in a city?
   5. What was the most damaging earthquake in history?
   6. How disastrous was the San Francisco earthquake?
   7. How often have tidal waves happened?
   8. Has a tidal wave ever hit the United States?
   9. What were the deadliest tropical storms in the world?
   10. What was the worst hurricane in U.S. history?
   11. Which hurricane caused the most damage?
   12. How long have hurricanes had names?
   13. Which country has the worst floods?
   14. When was the Johnstown Flood?
   15. What were the harshest blizzards to hit the United States?
   16. What was the Dust Bowl and what effect did it have?
   17. What were the worst famines in history?
   18. How much damage was done by the Great Fire of London?
2. Man-Made Disasters
   1. Was the Chicago fire really started by a cow?
   2. What was the impact of the fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas?
   3. What happened at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge?
   4. What is the true story of the Titanic?
   5. Was the Titanic the most disastrous shipwreck in history?
   6. What effect did the sinking of the Titanic have?
   7. What happened to the Hindenburg?
   8. What is the worst airplane crash in history?
   9. What happened to the spacecraft Apollo 13?
   10. Why did the space shuttle Challenger explode?
   11. What was Love Canal?
   12. What happened at Three Mile Island?
   13. What was the worst industrial accident in world history?
   14. What caused the nuclear accident at Chernobyl?
   15. Was the World Trade Center bombing really part of a larger terrorist plan?
   16. Was the Oklahoma City bombing the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil?