After the MGM Grand fire, which killed 86 people 44 years ago last Thursday, a fire safety commission was convened by Nevada Governor Bob List. That commission immediately came up with 11 recommendations for a new fire code to prevent this tragedy from ever recurring.
Those recommendations included adding sprinklers to all guest rooms in existing high-rises, in addition to smoke detectors and emergency stairwell lighting. These measures seem so obvious today that most people assume they were immediately implemented.
But the commission buckled under pressure from the gaming industry, which valued saving money over saving lives. The recommendations were amended. As submitted, they only required the changes in new construction.
The real reason for the introduction and passage of Senate Bill 214, which included all of the commission’s original recommendations, occurred 12 weeks later. It was a less-remembered second fire at the Las Vegas Hilton.