Summary of Law

The Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 (PL101-391) was passed into law by Congress to save lives and protect property by promoting fire and life safety in hotels, motels and other places of public accommodation. The law encourages and eventually mandates that federal employees on travel must stay in public accommodations that adhere to the life safety requirements in the legislation guidelines. PL101-391 also states that federally funded meetings and conferences cannot be held in properties that do not comply with the law.

PL101-391 is applicable to all places of public accommodation, and requires that such properties are equipped with:

hard-wired, single-station smoke detectors in each guestroom in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard 74;
an automatic sprinkler system, with a sprinkler head in each guest room in compliance with NFPA standards 13 or 13R. Properties three stories or lower in height are exempt from the sprinkler requirement.

History

In 1946, the worst hotel fire in U.S. history took place at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, taking the lives of 119 people. In November 1980, 85 people were killed at the MGM Grand Hotel fire in Las Vegas, Nevada. One month later, 26 people died in a fire at the Stouffer's Inn in New York. In February 1981, only three months after the MGM Grand Hotel tragedy, another Nevada hotel - the Las Vegas Hilton - was the site of a major fire, where 8 people died, and over 600 people were injured. On New Year's Eve 1986, a fire raged in the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killing 97 people in the course of 12 short minutes. In the 1980s the hotel and motel industry suffered more than $280 million in fire related losses. The 1970s and 1980s marked a high point for fatalities in hotel tragedies, during which Americans witnessed over 400 deaths in multi-story hotel fires.

Investigations conducted in the aftermath of the MGM Grand fire revealed that had the hotel been fully outfitted with automatic sprinklers, the damage wrought by the small electrical fire would have been a puddle of water. The fire in the Dupont Plaza tragedy moved with such speed that the hotel's casino patrons were dead before the local fire department had even been notified. Testimony at hearings following this incident indicated that the fire would not have posed a threat to life if smoke detectors and a sprinkler system had been in place.

The two unforgettable incidents - the MGM Grand and Dupont Plaza fires - served as catalysts to the enactment of the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990. On January 3, 1989, the Hotel/Motel Fire-Safe List Act of 1989 was introduced in Congress. On March 2, 1989, the Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology began holding hearings on H.R. 94, proposing to use the purchasing power of the federal travel dollar as a financial incentive for the use of fire-safety technology in hotels and motels, to protect all Americans who travel. To accomplish these goals, the bill restricted federal employee travel to properties with smoke detectors and sprinklers. After much discussion and debate, H.R. 94 was signed into law by the President on September 25, 1990.

Purpose of Law

The purpose of the law is simple: to save lives. PL101-391 was designed to make all places of public accommodation safe for everyone, to promote an awareness among the general public about fire safety. PL101-391 also contains language to encourage states to promote the use of sprinkler systems and smoke detectors.

Fire safety experts agree that automatic sprinkler systems are the most effective safeguards against the loss of life and property. Testimony at hearings leading to the enactment of PL101-391 indicated that the cost of installing sprinklers is probably less than many hotels spend on new carpet - an investment made about every five years. PL101-391 gives all places of public accommodation substantial economic incentive to adhere to these life safety guidelines. Properties that comply with the fire safety guidelines of PL101-391 are included in the National Master List (published in the Federal Register) and other travel directories, giving them the opportunity to pursue government business.

Although the law was written primarily to protect federal employees who travel, it was the intent of the law to encourage the traveling public to be aware of the existence (or lack thereof) of fire safety devices in places of public accommodation... this will save lives.

Who Is Responsible?

We are all responsible for our own safety. If we are aware of the existence of or lack of fire safety devices when in places of public accommodation, then we can make more intelligent choices that can save our lives in the event of an emergency. Those with formal roles for ensuring public safety as it relates to PL101-391 are:

Proprietors of public accommodation who are responsible for the safety of their guests. Proprietors are responsible for installing the fire safety devices that meet the guidelines of the law.
State and local code enforcement officials who are responsible for the inspection of these places of public accommodation, and for compiling state lists of these properties that comply with the law.
Representatives of the United States Fire Administration (USFA), a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), who are responsible for compiling, maintaining and publishing the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 National Master List of all properties nationwide that are in compliance with the law.
Representatives of Federal Agencies who are responsible for ensuring that their employees comply with the law.

USFA's Role

USFA has been charged with carrying out FEMA's responsibilities with respect to the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990. In addition to compiling, maintaining and publishing the National Master List, USFA is also responsible for taking steps to encourage states to promote the use of automatic sprinkler systems and automatic smoke detection systems.

Text Text of the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 (PL101-391) (Text file, 20 Kb)

For further information regarding the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 National Master List, please contact: Tim Ganley, USFA (301) 447-1358.