21, 1980, sparked by faulty wiring in a deli restaurant at the east end of the casino, revealed code violations, design flaws and other serious vulnerabilities in one of the most modern resorts. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) and present The photo was taken by a fellow firefighter as they drove to the fire. Jerry Bendorf shows a photo of the MGM Grand fire at his Las Vegas home on Nov. Retired Clark County Fire Department Capt. It killed 87 people and injured hundreds more inside the Las Vegas Strip property, changing so much about the valley 40 years later. He was just one of more than 200 firefighters who responded to the catastrophic MGM Grand fire in 1980, the worst blaze in Las Vegas history. “I kind of thought to myself: This is like being in a movie or something. “I didn’t feel like it was me there,” he said. He said he had done so in order to remember specific accounts of his experience to tell his children and grandchildren.īendorf, 75, recalled sitting against the wall in a lobby as he watched other fire personnel give CPR to victims and thought about how he could relate to Hollywood’s depiction of the fog of war. Jerry Bendorf dictated personal recollections to his wife to type. Other memories can fade with time, so after the devastating fire, rookie Clark County fire Capt.
