Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association comprised of fire service professionals, architects, engineers, industry experts and organizations committed to enacting safer and more sustainable building standards in cities across the country such as Los Angeles, is pleased to welcome Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) as a new coalition member. CLUE joins a growing alliance in Los Angeles that is committed to working with the city council to improve building and fire safety standards for developments throughout the city.
“Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) is excited to join a coalition representing community-based organizations, businesses, unions and other organizations throughout Los Angeles, to ask the City Council to pass an ordinance to move our city toward a safer and more sustainable standard for low-rise building developments,” says Rabbi Jonathan Klein, Executive Director of CLUE. “The benefits of safer standards are important to all communities, and communities at higher risk, such as low and moderate income neighborhoods, and small and medium size businesses that often occupy many mixed use low-rise developments. We need the city to respond to the safety risks.”
At a time of heightened visibility on the use of combustible construction materials following a string of large, wood-frame apartment complex fires nationally, including the Da Vinci apartment complex in Los Angeles, Build with Strength is working with government officials, firefighters and building trades union leaders across the country to address potential causes of these fires relating to building safety standards. In reviewing current building and fire safety codes, the coalition is working to identify areas in need of improvement, particularly in encouraging updated building codes, including the use of non-combustible materials in minimizing the risk of fires.
As the nation’s urban centers continue to grow and demand for housing increases, Build with Strength is working to ensure the safety of new buildings, particularly those intended for communities at risk such as low- and moderate-income residents.
“In order to ensure no community is needlessly exposed to the inherent dangers of vulnerable construction methods, lawmakers and members of the building code community must recognize the reality of the problem,” says Kevin Lawlor, a spokesperson for Build with Strength. “In working with us on this endeavor, CLUE joins a growing coalition committed to making the City of Angels a more resilient, shining beacon that will stand the test of time.”
Learn more at www.buildwithstrength.com.
