The barriers segregate a building or parts of a building to prevent the spread of fire and smoke. Implementing fire resistance means creating barriers that resist the spread of fire.
Stairways, elevator shafts, heating ventilation, and air conditioning systems created open pathways for spreading toxic smoke throughout the building. Smoke inhalation was the main cause of death and injury.Īn analysis of the building structure after the event revealed a lack of fire resistance. By the time the fire was extinguished, 85 people lost their lives and hundreds more were injured. To make matters worse the fire warning system never activated and approximately 3,400 hotel guests had no warning of the need to evacuate. The fire spread to the large casino area where it was escalated due to the availability of fuel and absence of sprinklers. On November 21, 1980, an electrical fault in its deli sparked a devastating fire in the MGM Grand Hotel of Las Vegas.
