It is with great sadness that our association learned of the fire at Grenfell Tower in London during the Metal Construction Association (MCA) Summer Meeting in Chicago. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families that have been affected by this tragic event. Fire officials, materials manufacturers and the design and construction community must learn what causes were behind why the fire propagated so quickly to avoid similar events in the future. MCA supports a cohesive, combined approach to accomplishing this vital outcome.
MCA fully supports the responsible use of metal in construction within the tests and standards recognized and required by North American building codes. Regulations for product and assembly use are defined in both the International Building Code and the National Building Code of Canada providing for safe, tested construction in North America. MCA highlights these requirements in Technical Bulletins and White Papers and continues to support the processes and regulations providing for safe construction in North America. Please refer to MCA’s White Paper,
MCM and MCM Systems for Building Cladding in North America – Published 06/2016 and Technical Bulletin,
Metal Composite Materials – Fire Performance Testing in the United States and Canada – Published 06/2016 for further information.
It will be some time before all the facts and sequences of this event are known and it will be very important to understand exactly what causes contributed to the fire propagation. The many theories and statements being proposed prior to completing the investigation must be evaluated to determine where and if they fit in the overall treatment of this event.
MCA will communicate the verified facts of this tragic event as they become known rather than presumed. MCA will also continue to follow how the facts relate to construction codes in England and how this knowledge can be used in the United States and Canadian construction codes. MCA’s goal is to assure that the learnings from this tragic event makes responsible construction safer in North America.
