On paper, the Hotel LaSalle was safe. In reality, according to the Chicago Tribune:
"[I]t was a tragedy waiting to happen, and made of chance and dereliction, compounded by mendacity."
Exit doors meant to be installed on each floor never got built. And a remodel of the bar's lounge was finished with flammable materials--despite being halted for same by police a decade earlier. A 15-minute delay in calling the fire department compounded the tragedy. In the end, 61 people died and more than 200 were injured before the fire was out.