I lived there at the time of both MGM and Hilton fires. My personal memory recounts the highly flammable wallpaper as a major source in the fire spreading as fast as it did in the casino. I remember how Barbary Coast really did all they could to help those in need, and even honored the MGM chips. I remember everyone in my office loading up and going to donate blood for the victims. And I remember the hauntingly beautiful sunsets over several days due to the lingering smoke. And then, three months later, some jackwad started a fire in the Hilton. He's still in jail, I believe. I think he was given 5 life sentences for the 5 that died.
What isn't said here is that at the time, the regulations stated that sprinklers could be omitted in areas that were open around the clock - but when the fire started, the restaurant wasn't open around the clock anymore.
Ghab Tan, it wasn’t that they were too high up to be rescued. The fire was entirely contained to the bottom floors of the hotel, and many guests were, in fact, rescued from the roof. As this video explains, the problem was in the poor design of the building which caused the concentration of toxic gases on the upper floors. Only about 7 victims burned to death, and all of those were on the ground floor. All the rest of the fatalities, as is typical in fires, were killed by toxic smoke and fumes.
@@inkyguy Late, but the fire actually spread through ventilation and the exit shafts causing toxic smoke and chemicals to be released, so more or less essentially I'm telling people that you'd have a better chance living at a lower floor than a higher one for reasons involving the toxic smoke and considering the balcony, you are able to stay at an area outdoors with less risk of being able to smell the smoke
I once stayed high enough to feel the building sway in the wind during a violent thunderstorm. When I looked out the window, the storm was all around the building, like above and below and all around. I’ve experienced the sensation of a storm in every conceivable direction before, on airplanes, but it’s never more than a moment before the airplane emerges either above or below the clouds. In that building, it seemed like the storm wouldn’t end, and the building kept swaying WAY too much for my comfort. I’ve stayed in skyscrapers since then, but happily never on a seriously stormy night.
During a fire, elevators automatically return to the ground floor. You MUST use the stairwells to get down. This is by design. The Fire Department, once on the scene, have keys to take command of the elevators to move themselves and equipment up and down. They even have control of the doors of the elevator cars at this point. If they open a door and find fire, they can quickly close them....
Built in the 1970s = Lots of plastics used in construction, furniture, clothing, a disaster waiting to happen. Petroleum products are not only highly flammable, but give off toxic fumes. The building by virtue of elevator shafts, locked stairway doors, and opened air conditioners, became a huge chimney. After 911 in NY, realizing how long and difficult it is to walk down 70 or so flights of stairs, I never go above the fifth floor. That’s as far as I can reasonably manage with my arthritis and a heart condition. I’ve been in the situation once in a Holiday Inn Express in Virginia. My room was in the third floor not far from the stairs. The fire alarm went off at about 2:30 AM. I was out of there with my back pack that I keep packed, ready to go beside me, even before the “return to your room” announcement. Again, because of 911, I didn’t trust it. I didn’t see or smell a fire, nonetheless, I walked around to the main entrance and ascertained what had happened at the front desk. Someone had made popcorn in an old fashioned oil cooker, in their room right beneath the smoke alarm. They’d left it long and it had burned to the pan, creating smoke.
Learning the black smoke was filtered out going into the hotel rooms, leaving the invisible carbon monoxide for gas to breathe was horrifying. These folks had no idea they were in any danger
I had a paranormal experience at floor 19th suite room... I really hope the people who died there have eternal peace... I saw people who did not deserve to die that day ..
Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the MGM Grand Hotel fire. I remember being 13, and my family living in California at the time. I came home from school, and my mom called me from work on her break and told me about it. Later, she came home from work, and we watched the tv news reports. It was so devastating. We had family living in Vegas for decades. Mom called her sister in law in Vegas and they talked about the fire. We moved to Vegas six years later. A big time tragedy for Vegas. Hoping nothing like that ever happens anywhere!!! May the victims RIP. 😥🙏💔
I grew up hearing his name around the dinner table, my dad worked with him and they were friends. He was at the station directly across the street from the mgm that day,
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.
Why does there appear to be flames and smoke coming from the ground surface and lobby parking area. I noticed the same strange fires in other video clips far removed from the casino and hotel but burning alongside and even behind fire fighters fixed positions.
Because the ceiling caught fire and collapsed after the fireball erupted from the front doors. They were concentrating their water on the major fire inside the building.
Same kind of thing that happened in the Coconut Grove fire in Boston about 40 years before this. The decor gave off cyanide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde as well as other shit when burning. Same kind of thing happened again with the Yarmouth Castle ship fire in 1960 (?), and the Scandinavian Star ship fire in the 1990s.
@@JCBro-yg8vd i can smell car exhaust, which is the #1 source of carbon monoxide. fumes from a bbq, lanterns, and anything that burns fuel are also deadly. Smoke from a campfire, or bonfire, can be equally deadly.
Camper Van Elvis I toof on you ~ LMAO........what a load of shit. They are human too and have had plenty of fuck ups too. Get the fuck off your pedestal little boy and stick to riding on ponies and petting chickens with your kid.
I lived there at the time of both MGM and Hilton fires. My personal memory recounts the highly flammable wallpaper as a major source in the fire spreading as fast as it did in the casino. I remember how Barbary Coast really did all they could to help those in need, and even honored the MGM chips. I remember everyone in my office loading up and going to donate blood for the victims. And I remember the hauntingly beautiful sunsets over several days due to the lingering smoke. And then, three months later, some jackwad started a fire in the Hilton. He's still in jail, I believe. I think he was given 5 life sentences for the 5 that died.
Knowing the exits is important in any building.
What isn't said here is that at the time, the regulations stated that sprinklers could be omitted in areas that were open around the clock - but when the fire started, the restaurant wasn't open around the clock anymore.
Exactly lived there also
Note:Do not get a room higher
than 9th floor and make sure your room has a balcony
Ghab Tan, it wasn’t that they were too high up to be rescued. The fire was entirely contained to the bottom floors of the hotel, and many guests were, in fact, rescued from the roof. As this video explains, the problem was in the poor design of the building which caused the concentration of toxic gases on the upper floors. Only about 7 victims burned to death, and all of those were on the ground floor. All the rest of the fatalities, as is typical in fires, were killed by toxic smoke and fumes.
👍👍👍✔️🙏🏼
@@inkyguy Late, but the fire actually spread through ventilation and the exit shafts causing toxic smoke and chemicals to be released, so more or less essentially I'm telling people that you'd have a better chance living at a lower floor than a higher one for reasons involving the toxic smoke and considering the balcony, you are able to stay at an area outdoors with less risk of being able to smell the smoke
Escape hood
I once stayed high enough to feel the building sway in the wind during a violent thunderstorm. When I looked out the window, the storm was all around the building, like above and below and all around. I’ve experienced the sensation of a storm in every conceivable direction before, on airplanes, but it’s never more than a moment before the airplane emerges either above or below the clouds. In that building, it seemed like the storm wouldn’t end, and the building kept swaying WAY too much for my comfort.
I’ve stayed in skyscrapers since then, but happily never on a seriously stormy night.
During a fire, elevators automatically return to the ground floor. You MUST use the stairwells to get down. This is by design. The Fire Department, once on the scene, have keys to take command of the elevators to move themselves and equipment up and down. They even have control of the doors of the elevator cars at this point. If they open a door and find fire, they can quickly close them....
Great short documentary.
Built in the 1970s = Lots of plastics used in construction, furniture, clothing, a disaster waiting to happen. Petroleum products are not only highly flammable, but give off toxic fumes. The building by virtue of elevator shafts, locked stairway doors, and opened air conditioners, became a huge chimney. After 911 in NY, realizing how long and difficult it is to walk down 70 or so flights of stairs, I never go above the fifth floor. That’s as far as I can reasonably manage with my arthritis and a heart condition. I’ve been in the situation once in a Holiday Inn Express in Virginia. My room was in the third floor not far from the stairs. The fire alarm went off at about 2:30 AM. I was out of there with my back pack that I keep packed, ready to go beside me, even before the “return to your room” announcement. Again, because of 911, I didn’t trust it. I didn’t see or smell a fire, nonetheless, I walked around to the main entrance and ascertained what had happened at the front desk. Someone had made popcorn in an old fashioned oil cooker, in their room right beneath the smoke alarm. They’d left it long and it had burned to the pan, creating smoke.
Learning the black smoke was filtered out going into the hotel rooms, leaving the invisible carbon monoxide for gas to breathe was horrifying. These folks had no idea they were in any danger
I had a paranormal experience at floor 19th suite room...
I really hope the people who died there have eternal peace...
I saw people who did not deserve to die that day ..
Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the MGM Grand Hotel fire. I remember being 13, and my family living in California at the time. I came home from school, and my mom called me from work on her break and told me about it. Later, she came home from work, and we watched the tv news reports. It was so devastating. We had family living in Vegas for decades. Mom called her sister in law in Vegas and they talked about the fire. We moved to Vegas six years later. A big time tragedy for Vegas. Hoping nothing like that ever happens anywhere!!! May the victims RIP. 😥🙏💔
Bert Sweeney is my dad. He's my hero.
I grew up hearing his name around the dinner table, my dad worked with him and they were friends. He was at the station directly across the street from the mgm that day,
Didn't they have sprinkler systems back then?
Never use elevators in a fire.
When the firefighters got there I wonder if any had said or thought where the smoke coming from or and is the 3 fires in the hotel
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.
Blame the first floor deaths on flammable material but those maintenance guys killed the other 65 upstairs by holding open those dampers
Why does there appear to be flames and smoke coming from the ground surface and lobby parking area. I noticed the same strange fires in other video clips far removed from the casino and hotel but burning alongside and even behind fire fighters fixed positions.
Because the ceiling caught fire and collapsed after the fireball erupted from the front doors. They were concentrating their water on the major fire inside the building.
All that synthetic materal .
Same kind of thing that happened in the Coconut Grove fire in Boston about 40 years before this. The decor gave off cyanide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde as well as other shit when burning. Same kind of thing happened again with the Yarmouth Castle ship fire in 1960 (?), and the Scandinavian Star ship fire in the 1990s.
Last part: ✔️👍✌️👌💪 !
My life-integrity is more important than just having fun !
Good review.
So it wasn't just the deli refridgerator that was faulty, but the entire buldimg
That isn’t what was stated.
Where’s the rest? It was just getting interesting.
Public service - what a career
Didn’t they have sprinklers?
No just 1000$ dollars and the did not have sprinklers
Sprinklers would have cost them an additional $192k during construction and the owners decided that was too much.
Wow, carbon monoxide killed people, with no apparent visual smoke... :(
bubbleglass wow that was so hard to figure with out smoke
Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer for a reason. It has no taste, no color and no odor to make it identifiable.
@@JCBro-yg8vd i can smell car exhaust, which is the #1 source of carbon monoxide. fumes from a bbq, lanterns, and anything that burns fuel are also deadly. Smoke from a campfire, or bonfire, can be equally deadly.
3:56
I would have been furious if I had just won a jackpot on a slot machine, then I burned to death before I got my money.
You think this is a joke?
You do not understand that some stayed to grab the money off the tables and dis not live. They was left at the table where they found them
Я хоть из России, но мне очень жалко тех кто был тогда в Отеле..
that was sceded
The East Coast Maffia Reopened the MGM Just 6 Months Later, Money Was NO Problem $$$$$$$$$
Las Vegas fire department, amateurs.....NYFD rules
Camper Van Elvis I toof on you nah gay
Camper Van Elvis I toof on you ~ LMAO........what a load of shit. They are human too and have had plenty of fuck ups too. Get the fuck off your pedestal little boy and stick to riding on ponies and petting chickens with your kid.
@@tannawannavannabittannawan7138 lmao jesus