News from Build with Strength: A Coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association

BUILD WITH STRENGTH STANDS WITH THOSE IMPACTED BY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES

Coalition Calls for Safe Communities and Smart Solutions

Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association consisting of fire service professionals, community organizations, architects, engineers and industry experts committed to enacting safer and more sustainable building standards, issued the following statement in the wake of the recent outbreak of wildfire in southern California: “This week’s events are a tragic reminder that fire can and will spread quickly, if the right conditions are present. Although our words provide little comfort to those that have lost their homes, belongings or more, we pledge to fight for stronger, more resilient communities in the months ahead – offering smart solutions to a problem that is becoming commonplace in southern California.” – Kevin Lawlor, spokesperson for Build with Strength.

To date, the coalition includes a number of California organizations, including: The California Black Chamber of Commerce, The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce, The Los Angeles Civil Rights Association, Kol Tikvah, Los Angeles Shmira Civil Safety Patrol, Los Angeles Urban League, The Southern California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Asian Americans in Commercial Real Estate, and Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.

PUBLICLY-FUNDED SKYSCRAPER FAILS TO PUT SAFETY FIRST

Portland, Oregon’s Framework Project to Be Built “As Quickly as Possible”

The city of Portland, Oregon announced it would provide $6 million in public funding to break ground on the United States’ first high rise structure built from wood in an effort to alleviate the city’s affordable housing predicament. The Framework Project, a 60-unit apartment complex constructed with cross-laminated timber (CLT), a building material comprised of large panels of wood and glue-laminated beams, was given the grant through a city initiative “to quickly deliver affordable units during [Portland’s] housing crisis,” according to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.

“This proposed project has its priorities all wrong,” said Kevin Lawlor, spokesperson for Build with Strength. “We should all agree that safety should come first, for the crews that will work on the project, for the first responders who will respond in an emergency, for the community and for the residents of the building. Building quickly should not take a backseat to building safely.”

Traditionally speaking, buildings taller than 85 feet in height fall under the International Building Code’s designation of Type I or Type II construction, which are generally limited to noncombustible materials such as concrete and steel. However, the Framework Project, which would almost double that height limit, passed design review approvals from the City of Portland in July 2016, and the official building permit for Framework was approved by the State of Oregon and the City of Portland in June 2017.

Additionally, the decision to move forward with the Framework Project design was also in part made to help spur the demand for new timber and manufacturing jobs and investment in mass timber products.

“The welfare of the local timber industry should play no part in the rationale of what is otherwise strictly a construction decision,” continued Lawlor. “The public should not be on the hook for investing in unsafe, untested and combustible construction products. Affordable housing doesn’t have to mean unsafe housing – there should be no compromise on this.”

Putting aside the fact that lawmakers are picking winners and losers, the decision to use combustible building materials in a skyscraper as opposed to resilient products like concrete or steel needlessly exposes the community to danger.”

Jon Narva, director of external relations for the National Association of State Fire Marshals, recently said in a video, “Within the United States, cross-laminated timber is really a new material, a new process. We still don’t know a lot about it; we’re trying to understand better how to protect the public with those buildings frankly coming into being. It’s certainly a fair statement to say we understand concrete and what it’s going to do under fire conditions better than we do cross-laminated timber.”

UNION CITY, NEW JERSEY, ADOPTS FIRE SAFETY RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF STRONGER BUILDING CODES

Joins Essex County in Local Efforts to Urge Timely Passage of Statewide Legislation

On November 15th, Union City Commissioners voted unanimously in support of the timely passage of New Jersey Assembly Bill 5196/Senate Bill 3490, statewide legislation that would amend New Jersey’s construction code for fire safety reasons, and provide an added level of protection for firefighters and residents alike.

The legislation calls for the installation of an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with NFPA 13, measuring the number of stories from the grade plane, using noncombustible materials for construction, and installing a fire barrier with a fire resistance rating of at least two hours that extends from the foundation to the roof.

“The terms included within the resolution would go a long way in securing the well-being of New Jersey’s residents and firefighters,” said Ed Donnelly, president of the New Jersey State Firefighters’ Mutual Benevolent Association (FMBA). “When it comes to combatting a fire, the best offense is a good defense, and this legislation provides exactly that.”

In addition to FMBA, local New Jersey coalition members of Build with Strength include: The Professional Association of Fire Fighters in New Jersey; the New Jersey State Association of County Fire Marshals; the Brigantine Beach Fire Company; the Bricklayers and Allied Crafts – New Jersey; and the Fire Departments of Burlington County and West Orange.

In February 2017, Essex County, New Jersey was the site of a major fire at a wood-framed apartment complex under construction in Maplewood. The incident came nearly two years after a massive fire displaced more than 500 residents from an apartment complex of similar construction in Edgewater, located in neighboring Bergen County. There have been dozens of fires of a similar nature throughout the country over the last several months.

Despite the massive infernos and the calls for stronger building codes, legislation drafted to help prevent additional fires in New Jersey stalled after facing opposition from groups like the New Jersey Builders Association and the New Jersey Apartment Association – organizations that stand to benefit financially from the use of cheaper, combustible building materials. “Communities are making it known: Fire safety must be the priority in new and existing construction, and that means limiting the use of combustible materials,” said Kevin Lawlor, spokesperson for Build with Strength. “The State of New Jersey needs to listen to the communities throughout the state who are demanding that laws and codes reflect their priorities.”

A September 2016 poll of 400 registered voters in New Jersey found respondents very supportive of the state making changes to building codes following the devastating Edgewater apartment complex fire in January 2015.

PROPOSED MASS-TIMBER BUILDING IN CHICAGO WOULD WEAKEN CITY’S SKYLINE AND COMPROMISE SAFETY

Build with Strength Advocates 21st Century Protections for a 21st Century Population

Late last week it was reported that Chicago’s Goose Island has been chosen as the potential site of the largest mass-timber office building in the country by Houston-based commercial real estate developer Hines. The proposed 270,000 square-foot project would be built at 1017 W. Division Street, just outside of the city’s fire limits, a district established to keep Chicagoans safe and prevent against the major fire events that have altered the history of the city, such as the great Chicago fire of 1871.

“This proposed project is yet another example of a developer exploiting a loophole in order to turn a slightly larger profit at the expense of community safety standards,” said Kevin Lawlor, spokesperson for Build with Strength. “Inching an unsafe building just outside a fire safety zone may follow the letter of the law, but certainly not the spirit. Chicago is the gold standard for safe construction, and this timber project threatens that. Chicagoans need 21st century protections for a 21st century population, and should push back against those who would seek to exploit the fire limits boundary for profit.”

Learn more at www.buildwithstrength.com.