On November 21, 1980, a fire broke out at the 21-story MGM Grand Hotel. This fire killed 85 guests and hotel employees, 61 of which died in the high-rise tower. The fire started on the ground floor, and smoke spread extensively throughout the casino and into the upper floors of the hotel. A total of 544 fire fighters were used at this incident.


. The Las Vegas MGM Grand had been almost allowed to open with no fire protection at all. Minor precautions like fire doors were installed only after fire chiefs from a convention toured the facility and came away shocked. Insurers were about to list the place as "unprotected."Nevada got the toughest fire sprinkler law in the world only after more than 100 people died.

The same insurance questions arose out of the fire loss at the MGM Grand years earlier on Nov. 21, 1980. Wiring behind a
wall in the resort's deli simmered and then burned undetected for hours. The result was a flash fire that spread at a rate of 19
feet per second through the casino. About 5,000 people were inside the resort when the fire broke out-84 deaths resulted. Fire
marshals had insisted sprinklers be installed in the casino during the building's construction in 1972. The hotel refused to pay
for the $192,000 system, and a Clark County building official sided with the resort. Authorities later said the sprinkler system
could have prevented the disaster at the hotel. The fallout was $223 million in legal settlements.
The MGM structure sustained some fire damage but not to the entirety of the building. There was, in addition to fire damage,
many areas affected by resultant water damage. There were numerous sleeping rooms unaffected by the fire as well as tenant
occupied stores and restaurants in the lower level. In that there were sleeping quarters not damaged as well as some stores the
coverage question became whether they were entitled to any business interruption reimbursement for both the time frame when
the entire structure was closed and for the period starting when they were allowed to open but the MGM remained closed.

Nevada got the toughest fire sprinkler law in the world only after more than 100 people died. The Las Vegas MGM Grand had been almost allowed to open with no fire protection at all. Minor precautions like fire doors were installed only after fire chiefs from a convention toured the facility and came away shocked. Insurers were about to list the place as "unprotected."