A fire sent thick black smoke throughout all 26 stories of the MGM Grand hotel-casino on Las Vegas' glittering strip today, trapping hundreds of guests in their rooms and on the roof. Clark County Coroner Otto Ravenholt said 39 people were killed. Hundreds were reported injured.
Ravenholt said all but one of the victims died of smoke inhalation. He said 31 bodies were found on upper floors and eight were found in or near the ground-floor gambling casino which was destroyed by flames and smoke. One of those found near the casino apparently had jumped from an upper floor, authorities said.
The fire, which broke out at 7:15 a.m. PST and sent smoke billowing hundreds of feet into the air, was controlled two hours later. Capt. Ralph Dinsman of the Clark County Fire Department termed the blaze "the worst hotel fire we've ever had in Las Vegas" and he estimated damage in the millions.
The flames and smoke sent more than 1000 guests fleeing to the roof of the 26-story hotel tower to escape by helicopter.
Two victims were found in an elevator, five died in the casino, one was killed trying to jump to safety and others were found dead of smoke inhalation in their rooms.
Hundreds of guests suffered from smoke inhalation. At least 60 were treated at hospitals for injuries from broken glass and smoke inhalation.
The 1000 people on the roof of the 2100-room hotel - one of the world's largest resort complexes - were rescued by a dozen helicopters, including seven big Air Force choppers, which flew sorties from the hotel parking lot.
Some 30 fire trucks and all available ambulances surrounded the hotel with lights flashing.
Many guests waited on balconies outside their rooms for rescue by rope ladders and a "cherry picker" used for washing windows.
At 9:30 a.m. PST, the Red Cross said 20 people were still on the roof. Dinsman said the fire department's ladders reached only to the ninth floor of the $106-million luxury hotel, which with 2076 rooms, is one of the world's largest.
There were conflicting reports as to where the fire began, with some witnesses saying it started in the basement, some in the main escalator, and some in a ground floor delicatessen.
At least seven bodies were found in the 140-yard-long gambling casino, which was destroyed by flames and smoke, Dinsman said. He said an eighth victim had jumped from a window and two had been found in their rooms.
Dinsman said most of those injured had cuts from glass or were treated for smoke inhalation.
Police helicopters circled overhead, and officers shouted over bullhorns, "Don't jump! don't jump!" to panicked guests who leaned out of windows, dangling makeshift bedsheet ladders, or crammed onto balconies. An eyewitness said about 30 people were on one balcony screaming for help.
Dinsman said the guests were in no immediate danger as long as they stayed by their windows.
(Classic Tours, a Braintree travel agency, had 20 New Englanders staying at the hotel who were scheduled to return home today, an agency spokes-person said. The spokesperson would not release the names,nor would he say if the agency had any information whether any of the tour group were casualties in the fire.*
(Las Vegas fire department officials said that persons wanting to ask about any relatives or friends staying at the hotel can check their status by calling 702-733-2323).
With the flames controlled, firefighters began evacuations floor by floor, both from inside corridors and from the outside, using window-washers' platforms to lower people to safety.
Many of those brought out were dazed, barefoot, wearing nightgowns blackened by smoke.
"Everybody was pushing everybody. We didn't know what to do," said Walter Fellwood of Ellicott, Md., who fled his sixth-floor room with his wife, leaving their belongings behind.
Many guests threw furniture through their windows to get air, and the falling debris injured some people on the ground.
Every ambulance in town was called to the scene. Injured guests, many in nightclothes, were being treated by medics on the street alongside the 43-acre hotel site.
"It was terrible. People were wandering down the hall and didn't know what to do," said Jerry Rosanblam, a New York stockbroker who was a guest on the seventh floor. "You were lulled into a false sense of security. There were no phone calls, no alarm, nothing."
Construction workers who were completing an addition to the hotel when the fire broke out rescued some guests by grabbing them from balconies and leading them away on scaffolding.
The portico in front of the main entrance was burned away.
Trading of MGM Grand Hotels Inc. stock was suspended on the New York Stock Exchange this morning upon news of the fire. Trading is routinely suspended on a stock when there is development that could affect earnings.
The MGM, which opened seven years ago, was in the process of adding 780 rooms and 33,000 square feet of banquet and meeting rooms.
"Upon completion, the MGM Grand Hotel-Las Vegas will have almost 2,900 guest rooms and will be the largest hotel in the world," according to the 1980 annual report by MGM Grand Hotels, Inc. The expansion was due for completion next May.
The current headliner starring in the casino's nightly supper club shows was singer Mac Davis.
The once-dramatic entry of the hotel, a white building faced with a huge golden "Grand Portal" canopy, was black from the flames. The casino and showroom area, a one-story building jutting out from the tower, was destroyed.
Glass windows popped from the heat of the flames, which were restricted to the ground floor area and did not reach the guest rooms.
Gamblers left the tables and slot machines to find safety. A card dealer said "some didn't want to, but there was no choice." State Gaming Control Board agents arrived to see that casino money was not stolen. There was no indication how much was lost to the flames.
Mr. and Mrs. James Mackey of Bear Lake, Mich., said they were sleeping in their room on the 22d floor when the fire broke out at 7:30 a.m. They said they did not hear an alarm.
"When we woke up, we couldn't even see across the hall," he said. "We got news of the fire by turning on the radio. We put mattresses against the wall and kept stuffing towels under the doors to keep the smoke out. We put a note on the door, and we prayed a lot."
They were rescued by firefighters who came down from above.
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Vinson of Poplar Bluff, Mo., were on the 19th floor.
"We heard the fire trucks. We broke windows with a suitcase, put wet towels around our heads and stayed near the window. We didn't have a balcony."
