with unused furniture. The furniture quickly caught
fire, and its protective plastic wrapping gave off
thick, toxic fumes. Within minutes, a massive fireball
spread first to the adjacent ballroom and then to the
lobby.
Holiday tourists panicked as the superheated air
and smoke from the fire threatened the second-
floor casino. Hotel security, long concerned with
monitoring activity within the casino, had routinely
chain-locked all doors other than the casino’s main
entrance, which became engulfed in flames. Desper-
ate to exit, guests hurled themselves out of windows
or swarmed into elevators and stairwells, only to find
the ground floor in flames. Within fifteen minutes,
97 people died, most from asphyxiation. More than
140 were injured. The three hotel workers were
eventually found guilty of murder, arson, and con-
spiracy. In one of the largest civil lawsuits ever filed,
the hotel was sued by more than two thousand plain-
tiffs seeking damages of almost $2 billion. The plain-
tiffs charged hotel management with failing to
provide adequate warning and lacking sufficient
emergency procedures (the hotel did not have fire
sprinklers). The Dupont Plaza never reopened un-
der that name. Instead, it was sold to the Marriott
chain, completely refurbished, and reopened as the
San Juan Marriott and Stellaris Casino.
Impact In addition to triggering an industry-wide
reform of fire-prevention measures and evacuation
procedures, the terrorist attack on the Dupont Plaza
underscored the disparity in the Caribbean between
the wealthy tourists upon whom the region’s tourism
industry depends and the indigenous population
that maintains that industry, often at wages just
above the poverty line.
Further Reading
Dietz, James L.An Economic Histor y of Puerto Rico.
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1987.
Monge, Jose Trias.Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest
Colony in the World.New Haven, Conn.: Yale Uni-
versity Press, 1999.
Noon, Randall K.Engineering Analysis of Fires and Ex-
plosions. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1995.
Joseph DeweySee also MGM Grand Hotel Fire; Terrorism; Unions.Duran Duran
Identification British New Wave band
Date Formed in 1978
Duran Duran was instrumental in revolutionizing and
popularizing synthesizer music, contributing to the unique
sound of the 1980’s. The group also produced exotic music
videos and participated in the increasing trend of mass
marketing popular bands.
Duran Duran was a British “new romantic” band that
was a leading player in the 1980’s U.S. New Wave mu-
sic scene. Guitar player John Taylor and keyboard
player Nick Rhodes formed the band in 1978 in
Birmingham, England. Guitar player Andy Taylor,302 Duran Duran The Eighties in America
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescues trapped tourists from
the roof of the Dupont Plaza Hotel during the December 31, 1986,
fire that cost ninety-seven people their lives.(AP/Wide World
Photos)