Dupont Plaza Hotel arson facts for kids
Dupont Plaza Rescue by Phyllis Gottschalk
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| Date | December 31, 1986 |
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| Time | 3:30 p.m. |
| Venue | Hotel Dupont Plaza |
| Location | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Type | Fire |
| Cause | Arson |
| Deaths | 98 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 140 |
| Convicted | Héctor Escudero, Armando Jiménez, and José Rivera |
| Sentence | Jiménez: 75 years in prison Escudero, Rivera: 99 years in prison |
The Dupont Plaza Hotel arson was a terrible fire that happened on New Year's Eve in 1986. This fire was started on purpose by three people who used to work at the hotel. They were having a disagreement with the hotel owners about their jobs.
Sadly, 98 people died in the fire. Many of them died from breathing in too much smoke. About 140 other people were hurt.
Contents
About the Hotel
The Dupont Plaza Hotel first opened its doors in 1963. It was originally known as the Puerto Rico-Sheraton. The Sheraton hotel company managed it until 1980. This was just before Sheraton started adding important fire safety features to its hotels.
The Fire Starts
A Work Disagreement
The hotel employees had a union. A union is a group that helps workers with their jobs and rights. This union called a meeting for its members. The meeting took place in the hotel's large ballroom on the afternoon of December 31, 1986.
Around 3:00 p.m., the 125 union members at the meeting voted. They decided to go on strike starting at midnight that day. A strike means workers stop working to protest something.
Setting the Fire
Three union members decided to cause trouble. Their names were Héctor Escudero Aponte, José Rivera López, and Arnaldo Jiménez. They planned to start several small fires. Their goal was to scare the tourists staying at the hotel.
At about 3:30 p.m., they put open cans of chafing fuel in a storage room. This room held new furniture. The three men then set the fuel on fire.
The fire quickly grew out of control. It became very large and spread through the building.
What Happened After
The Investigation
A government safety group called the United States' Occupational Safety and Health Administration looked into the fire. They found 25 safety problems at the hotel. For example, the emergency exit doors in the casino area were not working right. This problem caused 84 guests to get trapped and die.
Those Responsible
In April 1987, the three men who started the fire admitted what they did. Héctor Escudero Aponte was 35 years old. Arnaldo Jiménez Rivera was 29. José Francisco Rivera López was 40. They were found guilty of causing the deaths in the New Year's Eve disaster. Two of the men were later released from federal prison.
