MGM Grand Hotel Fire Essay

MGM Grand Hotel Fire

Writing

In MGM Grand Hotel, most of the casino and arcade levels came equipped with an automatic sprinkler system. There were other areas, such as the main casino, deli, and coffee house, that were not protected with sprinklers. (Best & Demers, 1980) Furthermore, there were sprinklers present on the top most floors of the hotel, yet there were no sprinklers present on the majority of the floors that composed the hotel. According to blueprints, the hotel building came equipped with standpipes so as to be connected to fire department equipment. There were additionally some hoses, protected by glass, in high traffic areas for guests. According to Best and Demers' report (1980), there were at least five hydrants in the immediate vicinity of the MGM Grand Hotel.

The hotel's fire suppression systems extended further into the ventilation systems. Air was heated, cooled, and circulated by the hotel's heating ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC). Within the HVAC, fire dampers were present in places such as supply ducts and over areas where there was a great deal of circulation, such as above the casino. There were numerous AC, most of which came with fans. On the roof were more than a dozen exhaust fans that rotated continuously.Bathrooms within the guest rooms were stocked with small fans as well. Most of the manual fire alarms were in the guest areas. There were no fire alarms present on the Arcade, Casino, or second floors of the hotel. (Best & Demers, 1980) The sprinklers, the ventilations systems, and manual fire alarms of the MGM Grand Hotel served as the primary fire suppression and detection system in the building's construction.

The first people to notice and report signs of fire were employees. Employees close to the action indicated the smell and present of smoke in the deli. (FEMA, 2010) More and more reports continue to contend there was a fire in the deli; it took several reports before the fire was actually confirmed. A chef, who was close to the fire, began to use a fire hose on it, when he was warned by another employee not to use water upon electrical fires. The deli area soon lost power and the fire spread for awhile without the greater areas….....