1986 — Dec 31, Arson Fire, Dupont Plaza Hotel and Casino, San Juan, Puerto Rico — 97

— 98  NBS/Nelson. An Engineering Analysis…Fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel… 1987, p. 1.[1]

— 98  NIST. Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Puerto Rico 1986 (webpage). Accessed 12-30-2016.

— 97  Associated Press. “Suits Are Settled in San Juan Fire.” New York Times, 5-13-1989.

— 97  Craighead, Geoff. High-Rise Security and Fire Life Safety (3rd ed.). 2008. p. 132.

— 97  NFPA. Summary of Fire Incidents 1934-2006 in Hotel Fires in…[US]…  Jan 2008. p. 4.

— 97  National Fire Sprinkler Association.  F.Y.I.  1999, p. 6.

— 97  Robinson. “Looking Back…Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire.” NFPA Journal, Nov/Dec 2012.

— 97  Tepfer. “A vacation in paradise turns into fiery hell.” ctpost, 12-30-2011.

— 97  Topix: Puerto Rico. “Dupont Plaza Hotel arson – New Year’s Eve 1986.” 12-31-2010.

— 97  UPI (Ian Simpson). “Dupont Plaza fire continues to haunt Puerto Rico.” 12-31-1987.

 

—  1  4th floor hotel tower.                                          National Bureau of Standards 1987, p. 2.

–84  Casino                                                                Robinson. NFPA Journal, Nov/Dec 2012.

—  3  Elevator cab.                                                      National Bureau of Standards 1987, p. 2.

—  5  Lobby                                                                 Robinson. NFPA Journal, Nov/Dec 2012.

—  2  Pool side bar area one floor below Casino windows. National Bureau Standards 1987, p. 9.

  95  Total  [Blanchard assumption that there were two deaths from injuries.]

 

Narrative Information

 

National Bureau of Standards: “Scope. The analysis in this report relate to the fire that occurred on the afternoon of December 31, 1986 in the Dupont Plaza Hotel and Casino, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ninety eight persons died in this fire… [p. 1.]

 

“Background. At approximately 3:30 pm on December 31, 1986 a fire originated on cartons of furniture located in the South Ballroom of the Dupont Plaza Hotel and Casino. The fire rapidly broke out of the space of origin and swept through the Hotel Lobby and Casino areas. Ninety eight persons lost their lives. The principle initial investigation team was provided by the National Response Team of the U.S. Department of Treasury Bureau of Alcoholic Tax and Firearms (BATF.) This team was jointed by representatives of the Center for Fire Research of the National Bureau of Standards (CFR), the U.S. Fire Administration [FEMA], the U.S. Fire Academy [FEMA], and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA.)…. [p. 2.]

 

(NBS/Nelson. An Engineering Analysis of the Early Stages of Fire Development — The Fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel and Casino – December 31, 1986. April 1987.)

 

Topix: “The Dupont Plaza Hotel fire was a fire that occurred at the Hotel Dupont Plaza (now San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino) in San Juan, Puerto Rico on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1986.

 

“The fire was set by three disgruntled employees of the hotel who were in the middle of a labor dispute with the owners of the hotel. The fire claimed 97 lives and caused 140 injuries. It is considered the most catastrophic hotel fire in Puerto Rican history.

 

“The Puerto Rico Fire Department was dispatched at around 3:40 PM and 13 firetrucks, 100 firefighters, and 35 ambulances were responded.

 

“The employees of the hotel were in the middle of a labor dispute with hotel management relating to higher salaries and medical care. Three of the employees, Héctor Escudero Aponte, José Rivera López, and Arnaldo Jiménez Rivera, planned on setting several fires with the intention of scaring tourists who wanted to stay at the hotel.

 

“The hotel’s labor organization (which at some point was affiliated with the Teamsters) called a meeting for the afternoon of December 31, 1986. At the conclusion of the meeting, the members voted to go on strike.

 

“Around 3:30 PM, a few men placed opened cans of a flammable liquid commonly used in chafing dishes in a storage room adjacent to the ballroom on the ground floor of the hotel. The storage room was filled to the ceiling with unused furniture from the hotel.

 

“While some of the labor organizers created a distraction by staging a fight just outside the doors to the ballroom, three men set the fuel alight. The fire ignited the furniture and burned out of control, growing to massive proportions and flashing over. After flashing over in the ballroom, the superheated gasses swept up the grand staircase into the lobby of the hotel.

 

“From there, the fire was sucked into the open doors of the casino by the smoke-eaters[clarification needed] present throughout the casino. Most of the deaths occurred in the casino, as guests discovered that the emergency exit doors were locked and that the only other egress from the casino was through a pair of inward-opening doors. The casino patrons pressed against the doors to no avail. Some guests leapt from the second-story casino through plate-glass windows to the pool deck below….”  (Topix, Local News: Puerto Rico. “Dupont Plaza Hotel arson – New Year’s Eve 1986.” 12-31-2010.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Suits Are Settled in San Juan Fire.” New York Times, 5-13-1989. Accessed 12-30-2016 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/13/us/suits-are-settled-in-san-juan-fire.html

 

Craighead, Geoff. High-Rise Security and Fire Life Safety (3rd ed.). Elsevier Inc., 2009. Google preview accessed 12-30-2016 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=4BWyBELDQIwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Tepfer, Daniel. “A vacation in paradise turns into fiery hell.” ctpost, 12-30-2011. Accessed 12-30-2016: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/A-vacation-in-paradise-turns-into-fiery-hell-2432149.php

 

National Bureau of Standards (Harold E. Nelson). An Engineering Analysis of the Early Stages of Fire Development — The Fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel and Casino – December 31, 1986 (NBSIR 87-3560). Gaithersburg, MD: NBS, National Engineering Laboratory, Center for Fire Research, U.S. Department of Commerce, April 1987, 119 pages. Accessed 12-30-2016 at: http://www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire87/PDF/f87003.pdf

 

National Fire Protection Association. Summary of Fire Incidents 1934-2006 in Hotel Fires in the United States as Reported to the NFPA, with Ten or more Fatalities. Quincy, MA: NFPA, One-Stop Data Shop, Fire Analysis and Research Division, January 2008, 4 pages. Accessed at:  http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/Press%20Room/Hotelfirefatalitiesreport.pdf

 

National Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. F.Y.I. – Fire Sprinkler Facts. Patterson, NY: NFSA, Nov 1999, 8 pages. Accessed at: http://www.firemarshals.org/data/File/docs/College%20Dorm/Administrators/F1%20-%20FIRE%20SPRINKLER%20FACTS.pdf

 

NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Puerto Rico 1986 (webpage). Gaithersburg, MD: NIST, U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Page created 6-8-2011, updated 8-11-2011. Accessed 12-30-2016 at: https://www.nist.gov/el/dupont-plaza-hotel-fire-puerto-rico-1986

 

Robinson, Kathleen. “Looking Back: The Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire. Puerto Rico fire is the second deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.” NFPA Journal, Nov/Dec 2012. Accessed 12-30-2016 at: http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/publications/nfpa-journal/2012/november-december-2012/news-and-analysis/looking-back

 

Topix: Puerto Rico. “Dupont Plaza Hotel arson – New Year’s Eve 1986.” 12-31-2010. Accessed 3-4-2013 at: http://www.topix.com/forum/world/puerto-rico/TFF6O0GKQ4AT0KST8

 

UPI (United Press International)/Ian Simpson. “Dupont Plaza fire continues to haunt Puerto Rico.” 12-31-1987. Accessed 12-30-2016 at: http://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/12/31/Dupont-Plaza-fire-continues-to-haunt-Puerto-Rico/5630567925200/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] We have not been able to locate another source noting 98 deaths (NBS became NIST, thus the two references here go back to the same original source).