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[KSweeley]

AP is reporting that multiple U.S. buildings might have the same panels that was used in the Grenfell Towers building in London: https://apnews.com/dd61dced730b4166...S-hotel,-NFL-arena-may-sport-flammable-panels

This June 29, 2017 photo shows the Marriott Hotel in Baltimore's Harbor East district. In sales brochures, a U.S. company boasted of the ”stunning visual effect" its shimmering aluminum panels created in an NFL stadium, an Alaskan school and a 33-story hotel on Baltimore's waterfront. Those same panels also were used in London's Grenfell Tower. British authorities are examining whether the panels helped spread the fire that ripped across the apartment building's outer walls, killing at least 80 people. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In this Tuesday, June 27, 2017 photo, a bus pulls away from terminal D at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas. The steel style roof of the terminal was built using a cladding product that is believed to have been a major contributor to the London apartment tower fire

In this Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 file photo, fans walk into Cleveland Browns Stadium before the Minnesota Vikings play the Cleveland Browns in an NFL football game, in Cleveland. In sales brochures, a U.S. company boasted of the ”stunning visual effect" its shimmering aluminum panels created in an NFL stadium, an Alaskan school and a 33-story hotel on Baltimore's waterfront.

This June 27, 2017, photo shows the exterior of South Anchorage High School in Anchorage, Alaska. Arconic says 20,000 square feet of Reynobond ®ACM PE core was used for the metallic facade to differentiate the building entrances and science classrooms at the high school built in 2004. In sales brochures, a U.S. company boasted of the ”stunning visual effect" its shimmering aluminum panels created in an NFL stadium, an Alaskan school and a 33-story hotel on Baltimore's waterfront. Those same panels _ Reynobond composite material with a polyethylene core _ also were used in the Grenfell Tower apartment building in London. Those same panels also were used in London's Grenfell Tower.

In promotional brochures, a U.S. company boasted of the ”stunning visual effect" its shimmering aluminum panels created in an NFL stadium, an Alaskan high school and a luxury hotel along Baltimore's Inner Harbor that ”soars 33 stories into the air."

Those same panels — Reynobond composite material with a polyethylene core — also were used in the Grenfell Tower apartment building in London. British authorities say they're investigating whether the panels helped spread the blaze that ripped across the building's outer walls, killing at least 80 people.

The panels, also called cladding, accentuate a building's appearance and also improve energy efficiency. But they are not recommended for use in buildings above 40 feet because they are combustible. In the wake of last month's fire at the 24-story, 220-foot-high tower in London, Arconic Inc. announced it would no longer make the product available for high-rise buildings.

Determining which buildings might be wrapped in the material in the United States is difficult. City inspectors and building owners might not even know. In some cases, building records have been long discarded and neither the owners, operators, contractors nor architects involved could or would confirm whether the cladding was used.

That makes it virtually impossible to know whether the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel or Cleveland Browns' football stadium — both identified by Arconic's brochures as wrapped in Reynobond PE — are actually clad in the same material as Grenfell Tower, which was engulfed in flames in less than five minutes.

”If the materials used on a building appear similar to a known hazard, people need to know that," said Douglas Evans, a fire protection engineer from Las Vegas, who has been studying fires on the exterior facades of buildings for nearly 25 years. ”Anybody who is inside of these buildings has a right to know."

The International Building Code adopted by the U.S. requires more stringent fire testing of materials used on the sides of buildings taller than 40 feet. However, states and cities can set their own rules, said Keith Nelson, senior project architect with Intertek, a worldwide fire testing organization.

The National Fire Protection Association conducts fire resistance tests on building materials to determine whether they comply with the international code. Robert Solomon, an engineer with the association, told the AP that the group's records show the U.S.-made Arconic panels never underwent the tests. For that reason, he said, the group considered the products unsafe for use in buildings higher than 40 feet.

Tests conducted by the British government after the Grenfell fire found samples of cladding material used on 75 buildings failed combustibility tests.

Solomon said the use of Reynobond PE on the Baltimore Marriott and the city-owned Cleveland Browns stadium in particular should be reviewed because of their height.

 

[RobotHaus]

The best thing that might happen if the Browns Stadium catches fire is that no one will get hurt.

 

[Thaedolus]

The best thing that might happen if the Browns Stadium catches fire is that no one will get hurt.

Golf clap.

Too many variables to be alarmed by this report IMO.

 

[grandjedi6]

Of course it's the Browns stadium.

 

[The Jackdog]

it had to be the browns

 

[DrFunk]

* joke about the Cleveland Browns *

 

[GraveRobberX]

So the Browns literally play in a dumpster fire

Oh Cleveland

 

[GoldenEye 007]

If installed properly, is this a big deal at all?

 

[Draxal]

The best thing that might happen if the Browns Stadium catches fire is that no one will get hurt.

KAVEEEEEE.

 

[Saganator]

If installed properly, is this a big deal at all?

Google Grenfill Tower fire (or click link in the OP) and come back.

 

[Sephzilla]

It would be the hottest the Browns have been in ages

 

[TheCochese]

Guessed it would be Cleveland before I opened the thread.

People of The Land, you deserve so much more.

 

[KSweeley]

This article reports that Hyatt and Hilton are doing quiet inspections for this material: https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimo...called-in-to-inspect-baltimores-marriott.html

How can a person staying at a Hyatt or Hilton hotel know that their hotel is undergoing these quiet inspections?:

A team of engineers and inspectors combed Baltimore's Marriott Waterfront hotel on Friday sending samples of the outer surface to a laboratory for tests.

And the results could lead to major repairs.

The work was ordered by the Harbor East Management Group, owners of the 32-story luxury hotel, said Ed Rudzinski, the hotel's general manager. The inspection comes in response to a report last week in the Wall Street Journal that said construction of the 750-room Marriott Waterfront hotel may have included the use of 83,000 square feet of Reynobond PE, a highly combustible exterior panel made with polyethylene.

The same panels were used in construction of the Grenfell Tower in London, which caught fire on June 14 killing at least 80.

He said other large hotel chains around the U.S. were involved in inspections this month as well in the wake of the report.

"Hilton and Hyatt are doing their studies. It’s not going to be broadcast," Rudzinski said. "It’s going to be quiet – but they are going to be looking."

 

[DMczaf]

BrownsGAF...

 

[Jkmetal]

The best thing that might happen if the Browns Stadium catches fire is that no one will get hurt.

Physically or emotionally.

 

[ahoyhoy]

More problems for Baltimore yaay

 

[Mudcrab]

The best thing that might happen if the Browns Stadium catches fire is that no one will get hurt.

It would be the hottest the Browns have been in ages

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

If installed properly, is this a big deal at all?

Well the main problem is that the cladding combusts at relatively low temps, so... yes?

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Google Grenfill Tower fire (or click link in the OP) and come back.

I'm aware of the incident. But from what I remember, there were reports that it wasn't properly used given how and where it was installed.

So I was simply asking that if it was installed and used how it's supposed to be used, is it an issue?

Edit: Flammable building materials are used all of the time. So obviously being flammable alone isn't a reason to not use a particular material.

 

[CrocMother]

It had to be the Browns

 

[Bronx-Man]

Floyd, BG, let me know if y'all are ok

 

[nocturnalis]

I'm aware of the incident. But from what I remember, there were reports that it wasn't properly used given how and where it was installed.

So I was simply asking that if it was installed and used how it's supposed to be used, is it an issue?

Edit: Flammable building materials are used all of the time. So obviously being flammable alone isn't a reason to not use a particular material.

The installation wasn't a problem, it's the fact that it can catch on fire that was the problem.

 

[GraveRobberX]

Floyd, BG, let me know if y'all are ok

There too busy getting ready to burn Lebron jerseys all over again

Hopefully they do it outdoors and not inside, be really ironic the house has same panel treatment from the story

 

[norm9]

Browns better not fumble this safety issue.

 

[TheGameshark]

lol of course it's the Browns