My parents died in this fire. It's been 32 years, and I still miss them terribly. Dad died, trapped in a stairwell, unable to escape as they locked from the inside. Mom was found with a group of other people who gathered at the end of a hallway. Both died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, little known fact, their bodies were looted, their wedding rings stolen. If they had just stayed in their room, they might have lived. But with no alarms, they had no way of knowing what was happening. RIP
Sorry for your loss. My parents were in this fire along with my Aunt & Uncle. Fortunately they survived only with the clothes on their backs. they still have thier room key
Wow, May their souls Rest In Peace. Anyone who loots bodies is not worthy of being called a human. Obviously, there’s no fear of God or belief in karma. So disgraceful! The ONLY exception I could see would be in a war/survival situation. IOW, a soldier is killed on the battlefield and another living soldier takes such items as are needed for life. If he has MREs, boots, clothing, weapons, ammo, possibly money or jewelry that could be sold for food or medicine. To take cherished items for the sake of hatred, revenge, or greed? Just NO!
@@seamanship1203 our job was to stack water and cocktail glasses on trays n get em ready for the next show. Only three glassman on night shift. We would sneak in the door to the bar and watch show for free. Englebert Humperdink was a regular there. Dean Martin etc...
I remember watching this fire on tv..... we often go there so many times...these days I go with grandchildren...vegas is so different now then it was back then....it is more family oriented.....lots to do with kids......now I always look for exits....I count how many doors to emergency exit....count them....in case of fire, it will be dark, so counting the doors will help you to get out.
..I have been there several times.. also, i worked in the fire protection industry for many years... "Sprinklers"..this fire changed things all over the USA..new regulations and codes.. if a building did not have protection it had to be added by law..
No sprinkler system... It sounds like something from 1940, not 1980. So many of these fire tragedies seem to boil down to one root cause: money. The Joelma building fire in Sao Paulo 1974, just 6 years earlier, is a horrific example of money before safety.
Yup I haven’t been there since they rebranded to horseshoe. But my friend was staying there when it was ballys a few years ago and at the time I didn’t know about that fatal fire. But I FELT that dread you’re talking about. I even felt like there had been a fire there and that people had died. It was such a distinct feeling that I couldn’t explain and never had before. I was shocked to look it up and actually be right about that feeling. Such a tragedy.
Hero's Yes, if it wasn;t for Nellis Rescue it would have been worse. Before the MGM the Landmark, Hilton.had fires. None of the sprinklers at the Silver nugget were ever hooked up. They all were dummy;s all of the mirrors at the casinos were petroleum based and vaporized when exposed to the heat causing the fireball effect. Thankyou Harry Reed.
I remember that the firemen were using their bullhorn telling the people to stay in their rooms away from the windows but I don't think that they could hear them with all the helicopters flying around.
I remember the casino being full of plastic… The golden railings leading up to the casino were plastic… The carpeting was plastic and the massive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were all plastic and all went up like gasoline
I was there it was terrible I got off work MGM some how my coworker got separated and I didn't have A ride home but what I saw was horrific at that time just south of the hotel was A dirt lot and I could see the persons faces in the stairwell and the smoke there was nothing I could do I yelled at A person at the MGM trash dock too tell the firemen about the situation and I look again and the faces were gone there was no way I could get up there and try to break that glass ,there's more
Excellent documentary! I have always been fascinated by this fire and to come across this video was great. I'm wondering it anyone knows what happened to the Zigfried room at the casino. Did it burn or just suffer smoke damage and another question is the Zigfried room still there under a new name? I'm just curious because I remember watching the Dean Martin celebrity roasts filmed there.
I was thinking that too. The Zigfried Room had the Dean Martin roasts and they had an on going production show there called, Jubilee! Next door from the Zigfried Room was the Celebrity Room. That’s where the headliners like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra perform. I saw them both there at different times along with Ann Margret, Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. The Celebrity Room is farther in the back, right next to the Deli where the fire started. The fire worked it’s way out of the deli into the main casino. Both of those show rooms had to have extensive damage especially the Celebrity Room. The fire then spread to the front of the casino out front entrance. The smoke was funneled through the exhaust shafts which brought the smoke up to the ceiling. The A/C units were kept on the ceilings. The smoke was then funneled through the vent ducts going into the hallways and guest rooms. I was told when the fire department arrived, the round man hole units in the street blew right out due do the heat pressure. The elevators were the place you didn’t want to get into. The cable eventually snapped due to all the heat. Some poor souls tried to take the hallway stairwell exits from the rooms on the higher floors. They didn’t know it, but once the went in the stairwell, they couldn’t get out because it locked behind them, once they got in, and didn’t exit out because each floor locked from the inside. Those were the people that died of smoke inhalation. The firemen found some people with bloody finger nails trying to scratch open the stairwell door to get out of the stairwell as it was filling up with smoke. It was a horrific event.
The fire started in a compressor in the deli that kept pies cool in a display case. Because the deli was closed at the time nobody noticed the fire until it was too late. The fire was too advanced to be put out with fire extinguishers.
Not bad wiring but poor grounding. Electrical conduit was being used an effective ground fault current path. A nearby condensation drain pipe failed/ leaked and caused the conduit to fail. When the conduit failed so did the effective ground fault current path used to clear ground faults in electrical wiring. Instead, the conduit stayed energized, heated up, and started a fire.
I was one of the guests, along with my daughter, mother & father. Can't believe it's been almost 40 years! So thankful we all survived.
I am as well. I remember it well, it was the day before my Wedding .
My parents died in this fire. It's been 32 years, and I still miss them terribly. Dad died, trapped in a stairwell, unable to escape as they locked from the inside. Mom was found with a group of other people who gathered at the end of a hallway. Both died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, little known fact, their bodies were looted, their wedding rings stolen. If they had just stayed in their room, they might have lived. But with no alarms, they had no way of knowing what was happening. RIP
So sorry for your loss. There were people who died in there rooms as well.
Sorry for your loss. My parents were in this fire along with my Aunt & Uncle. Fortunately they survived only with the clothes on their backs. they still have thier room key
That's awful. So sorry to hear you lost your parents in such a tragic way..
I’m so sorry for your loss. My sincerest condolences❤️
Wow, May their souls Rest In Peace. Anyone who loots bodies is not worthy of being called a human. Obviously, there’s no fear of God or belief in karma. So disgraceful! The ONLY exception I could see would be in a war/survival situation. IOW, a soldier is killed on the battlefield and another living soldier takes such items as are needed for life. If he has MREs, boots, clothing, weapons, ammo, possibly money or jewelry that could be sold for food or medicine. To take cherished items for the sake of hatred, revenge, or greed? Just NO!
I worked there as a glassman on the night shift, 9 pm to 5 am, remember it well. Sad 84 people died
What’s a glassman?
@@seamanship1203 our job was to stack water and cocktail glasses on trays n get em ready for the next show. Only three glassman on night shift. We would sneak in the door to the bar and watch show for free. Englebert Humperdink was a regular there. Dean Martin etc...
Hey the fire chief is my grandpa!!!! It's weird to see him with a beard!
I remember watching this fire on tv..... we often go there so many times...these days I go with grandchildren...vegas is so different now then it was back then....it is more family oriented.....lots to do with kids......now I always look for exits....I count how many doors to emergency exit....count them....in case of fire, it will be dark, so counting the doors will help you to get out.
..I have been there several times.. also, i worked in the fire protection industry for many years... "Sprinklers"..this fire changed things all over the USA..new regulations and codes.. if a building did not have protection it had to be added by law..
No sprinkler system... It sounds like something from 1940, not 1980. So many of these fire tragedies seem to boil down to one root cause: money. The Joelma building fire in Sao Paulo 1974, just 6 years earlier, is a horrific example of money before safety.
Yup, a sprinkler system would have cost an additional $200,000 but they didn't want to spring for it.
I was there a couple of days ago wicked bad anxiety I was in the casino I felt wicked dread.
Yup I haven’t been there since they rebranded to horseshoe. But my friend was staying there when it was ballys a few years ago and at the time I didn’t know about that fatal fire. But I FELT that dread you’re talking about. I even felt like there had been a fire there and that people had died. It was such a distinct feeling that I couldn’t explain and never had before. I was shocked to look it up and actually be right about that feeling. Such a tragedy.
Hero's Yes, if it wasn;t for Nellis Rescue it would have been worse. Before the MGM the Landmark, Hilton.had fires. None of the sprinklers at the Silver nugget were ever hooked up. They all were dummy;s all of the mirrors at the casinos were petroleum based and vaporized when exposed to the heat causing the fireball effect. Thankyou Harry Reed.
these fire videos should really make an impact and all these events that has ocurd b4 ... the station man look it up
The Station fire video is used in many firefighters training. You’ll see it in the comments of any video containing the footage.
I remember that the firemen were using their bullhorn telling the people to stay in their rooms away from the windows but I don't think that they could hear them with all the helicopters flying around.
I remember the casino being full of plastic… The golden railings leading up to the casino were plastic… The carpeting was plastic and the massive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were all plastic and all went up like gasoline
I was there it was terrible I got off work MGM some how my coworker got separated and I didn't have A ride home but what I saw was horrific at that time just south of the hotel was A dirt lot and I could see the persons faces in the stairwell and the smoke there was nothing I could do I yelled at A person at the MGM trash dock too tell the firemen about the situation and I look again and the faces were gone there was no way I could get up there and try to break that glass ,there's more
I was there shortly before this fire hit…scary.
@Pauly69s. YOU get a clue. Reid served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981
Excellent documentary! I have always been fascinated by this fire and to come across this video was great. I'm wondering it anyone knows what happened to the Zigfried room at the casino. Did it burn or just suffer smoke damage and another question is the Zigfried room still there under a new name? I'm just curious because I remember watching the Dean Martin celebrity roasts filmed there.
I was thinking that too. The Zigfried Room had the Dean Martin roasts and they had an on going production show there called, Jubilee! Next door from the Zigfried Room was the Celebrity Room. That’s where the headliners like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra perform. I saw them both there at different times along with Ann Margret, Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. The Celebrity Room is farther in the back, right next to the Deli where the fire started. The fire worked it’s way out of the deli into the main casino. Both of those show rooms had to have extensive damage especially the Celebrity Room. The fire then spread to the front of the casino out front entrance. The smoke was funneled through the exhaust shafts which brought the smoke up to the ceiling. The A/C units were kept on the ceilings. The smoke was then funneled through the vent ducts going into the hallways and guest rooms. I was told when the fire department arrived, the round man hole units in the street blew right out due do the heat pressure. The elevators were the place you didn’t want to get into. The cable eventually snapped due to all the heat. Some poor souls tried to take the hallway stairwell exits from the rooms on the higher floors. They didn’t know it, but once the went in the stairwell, they couldn’t get out because it locked behind them, once they got in, and didn’t exit out because each floor locked from the inside. Those were the people that died of smoke inhalation. The firemen found some people with bloody finger nails trying to scratch open the stairwell door to get out of the stairwell as it was filling up with smoke. It was a horrific event.
3:56 How do they do that?
3:30 That looks like a Boeing 727
It is.
wasn't there a fire in a hotel that was caused by a short in a casino game?
Sounds like Bill Ratner narrating the video about Las Vegas.
No fire alarms to warn people?
My grandpa was the fire chief, Rex Smith! I win!
I was only 1 year old when event happened.
What dept is the crown from?
That belonged to the town of Winchester fire Dept. Winchester is outside of Las Vegas
Bad wiring in the wall of the restaurant, I believe. Or so I've heard.
The fire started in a compressor in the deli that kept pies cool in a display case. Because the deli was closed at the time nobody noticed the fire until it was too late.
The fire was too advanced to be put out with fire extinguishers.
Not bad wiring but poor grounding. Electrical conduit was being used an effective ground fault current path. A nearby condensation drain pipe failed/ leaked and caused the conduit to fail. When the conduit failed so did the effective ground fault current path used to clear ground faults in electrical wiring. Instead, the conduit stayed energized, heated up, and started a fire.
My brother was there and said that's not true.
what was not true?
how did the fire start?
it started by an electrical socket by fault wiring
I also heard that somebody farted right by cords that were old and it caused a small combustion
The fire started in the deli,there was a short circuit in a compressor in a cooling case that held pies.
I know Steve smith did
list of people that died Nov. 21, 1980, who were the victims 85 people died MGM Grand Hotel
No charges against the MGM CEO.
@Gayfreewill Really? Wow,
I was 5 when that fire happened
Why is his face so red
wasn't there a fire in a hotel that was caused by a short in a casino game?