On January 25, 1970, a large hotel, consisting of 2600 rooms and fire–resistive construction materials, which comprised three–quarters of a city block that was shared with a parking lot, was set afire. The cause of this blaze resulted from the careless disposal of smoking paraphernalia among the chairs located within the elevator lobby on the ninth floor. Neither automatic sprinklers nor automatic fire detection systems existed within the structure. The corridors, which extended 1200 feet, lacked smoke detectors.

Early in the morning, a guest notified the front desk of heat and smoke within the ninth floor corridor. Students attending a deaf–mute school occupied this floor. Attempting to rouse the occupants of the rooms, the security guard called and knocked on the doors until the occupants prevented his continued efforts. After alarming the fire department regarding the fire, telephone operators called all guest rooms; several guests later stated they never received such calls.