LV shows have averted fire mishaps

Jen Lawson

Friday, Feb. 21, 2003 | 11:12 a.m.

Pyrotechnics are commonly used during Las Vegas shows and concerts, but local fire officials said no fires have stemmed from these flashy flame shows because the city's fire codes are stringent and strictly enforced.

"I think there's very little chance of this happening here," Las Vegas Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Morgan said. "We have some of the best fire codes in the country."

Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnic Association, praised Las Vegas on CNN this morning for its fire codes, saying it's a city with lots of pyrotechnics shows but virtually no resulting accidental fires.

That wasn't the case in Rhode Island Thursday night. At least 75 people were killed after a pyrotechnics display engulfed a nightclub in flames. The club had recently passed a fire inspection, but didn't have a city permit for pyrotechnics.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said before a pyrotechnic display in Las Vegas, event organizers must get a permit and demonstrate the show for fire officials. Fire officials also observe the shows while the audience is present.

"The Clark County Fire Department is very sensitive to life and fire safety, especially in public assemblies, high rises, nightclubs and auditoriums," Leinbach said.

Las Vegas is a leader in fire safety largely because of the devastating fire at the MGM Grand in November 1980 that killed 87 people and another blaze a couple of months later at the Las Vegas Hilton that killed nine, Morgan said.

After the MGM fire, then-Gov. Robert List put together a blue-ribbon panel of fire prevention experts, building inspectors and government representatives to strengthen safety regulations for resorts statewide.

Although some progress had been made by the panel in the first weeks following the MGM fire, the Feb. 10, 1981, arson blaze at the Hilton drove home the need for immediate change.

The Nevada Legislature passed a bill in 1981 mandating sprinkler systems in all hotels, motels, office buildings and apartments higher than 55 feet and requiring sprinklers in showrooms and other public gathering places of more than 15,000 square feet.

Sprinklers can be life-saving devices: Leinbach said there have been no deaths in any Las Vegas high-rise structure since the Hilton blaze.