November 21, 1980 is one of the worst days in the history of Las Vegas. That was the day that 85 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand.
While I didn't live in Las Vegas at the time, I remember reading about the fire as I was a volunteer fireman at the time. The MGM fire closely followed by the Las Vegas Hilton Fire helped with creating the new and enhanced fire codes for hotels, motels and resorts.
For more on the fire: http://fire.co.clark.nv.us/(S(quvbx4yxqfwxyu55gu5rik2v))/MGM.aspx
The investigative report: http://fire.co.clark.nv.us/(S(quvbx4yxqfwxyu55gu5rik2v))/Files/pdfs/MGM_FIRE.pdf
One hopes we will never have to go through this again.
update: The fire was not where the MGM now stands. The fire was at the Bally's current location.
I had no idea you were old enough to be a fireman at the time, Dan. I remember it well too, though I still lived in Columbus at the time. It was almost as an indelible image as 9/11 for me. I was surprised when MGM revived the brand in the nineties.
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