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The MGM Grand is a hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. On November 21, 1980, a fire in this hotel killed 84 people and injured 679. This was the largest life-loss hotel fire in the United States history. The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical problem originating in the deli, and quickly spreading throughout the entire hotel and casino. The fire investigation report can be found at http://www.co.clark.nv.us/firedept/ccfd_mgm.htm. Reference: http://www.co.clark.nv.us/firedept/ccfd_mgm.htm
The Asch Building in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City caught fire on March 25,1911. The fire killed 146 of the 500 employees, and gutted the building. Reference: http://ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire The Great Chicago Fire started on October 8, 1871, somewhere in or very near the O'Leary barn. The Chicago fire was rumored to be caused by a cow kicking a lantern.
The Fire destroyed most of the city and killed 200 - 300 people. Reference: http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/
Picture taken from a ferry The San Francisco fire was cause by an earthquake that began at 5:12 in the morning of April 18, 1906.
The earthquake lasted for one minute and five seconds. The earthquake leveled 28,000 buildings, and started fires throughout the city that lasted for the next three days. The number of people killed was so great that it was indeterminable, and only a few buildings survived the earthquake and fire. Reference: http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/06.html The disaster of Kobe City was caused by the Great Hanshin Earthquake, Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 5:46 a.m.
Immediately after the earthquake 54 fires broke out simultaneously. The fire damage included 6,965 structures completely burned, and over 400 structures partially burned. The victims in Kobe included 4,571 dead, 14,678 injured, and 2 missing. A detailed report of the Kobe City disaster can be found at http://www.city.kobe.jp/index-e.html. Reference: http://www.city.kobe.jp/index-e.html
The Texas City Fire was dominated by two explosions on April 16 and 17 1947. Both of the explosions occurred on merchant ships docked in Texas City and loaded with ammonium nitrate fertilizer. The first explosion began as a small fire on the Liberty ship Grandcamp, and sent flaming debris in all directions. The second explosion occurred 16 hours later on the Liberty ship High Flyer with similar consequences. The origin of the fire on the Grancamp was not determined, but may have been cause by workers smoking on the ship. Reference: Stephens, Hugh W. The Texas City Disaster, 1947. Austin: University of Texas Press 1997.
The King's Cross Underground fire was London's worst subway fire. The fire was probably cause by a discarded match used to light a cigarette, coming in contact with grease under the escalator. A thick layer of grease, built up between the wheels on the track way, appeared to have been squeezed there by the natural action of the wheels over a period of time. The grease itself was very dirty. The fire engulfed the underground passageways and destroyed the entire ticket hall, killing 31 people including a senior fire fighter. Reference: TLC video, "Blaze"
The Stardust nightclub fire was Dublin's worst disaster. The first flames were sighted at 11:40 a.m. on February 14, 1981. The fire killed 48 people and injured 200. The fire was most likely started by someone lighting a slashed seat in the west seating alcove. The fire spread very quickly though the nightclub, gutting the entire building. Reference: TLC video, "Blaze"
The alarm in the Meridian Plaza building was raised at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 23, 1991. The first firefighters to arrive on the seen noticed flames on the 22nd floor. The fire was probably cause by spontaneous heating in a pile of painters rags with traces of linseed oil on them. The fire raged into the next morning spreading up 8 floors before being extinguished by the only sprinkler system in the building on the 30th floor. The fire killed three fire fighters and caused over 100 million dollars of damage. 300 of the best firefighters could not extinguish what approximately 10 sprinklers put out. Stronger laws requiring sprinklers are a direct result of the Meridian Plaza fire. Reference: TLC video, "Blaze"
The worst fire in Hong Kong's history occurred in an office building on Nathan Street. The fire was first noticed around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday November 20, 1996. The fire was reported as being started by a welder's spark at the top of an elevator shaft setting fire to rubbish at the bottom. The fire killed 40 people. Reference: TLC video, "Blaze"
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