Inferno At The MGM Grand

On November 21, 1980, the Las Vegas Strip was the site of what would become the third-worst hotel fire in modern U.S. history and what to this day remains the biggest disaster in the history of the state of Nevada.

Early that morning, a small fire broke out in a restaurant on the ground floor of what was - at the time - the MGM Grand Hotel. The fire quickly spread, engulfing the casino level and sending thick black smoke & toxic fumes to the upper floors of the hotel. In the end, 85 people were killed and hundreds more were injured.

But what exactly caused the fire and led to such widespread fatalities & injuries? And what changes were made to ensure that something like this could ever happen again?