In the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 26, in the city of Lynnwood, WA, fire crews battled a three-alarm fire at an apartment complex that is currently under construction. Luckily, the building was unoccupied, however two firefighters were injured battling the blaze. The building collapsed completely and is a total loss; it was 5-6 stories in height and built with light-framed, combustible wood construction, reports NRMCA Vice President, State and Government Affairs, John Loyer. More than 100 residents of two nearby apartment complexes had to be evacuated as the power was cut off to the area, out of concern to fire damage of the power lines and as one of the nearby buildings sustained damage from heat and flame.

 

"There are several pieces of legislation in New Jersey and Maryland that address this very issue and, most importantly, come from the logical construct that most of us have come to realize: wood burns and we need to find ways to control the fire or prevent it from ever happening by building with safer, fire-resistant materials, such as concrete or steel," said Loyer.

 

Build with Strength is a first-of-its-kind program for the concrete industry, designed not only to support our members, their businesses and the hard-working men and women of the concrete industry, but also to change the way people think about concrete construction versus direct competitors like soft-wood lumber. NRMCA has resources to help members and state affiliates advocate for resilient and safer construction including model legislation, talking points, public relations, and other key strategies.