Massachusetts officials say state regulations effectively ban the use of highly flammable material in high rises that is being linked to the rapid spread of a deadly fire at a London apartment tower.

Exterior wall materials used in Massachusetts buildings taller than 40 feet must pass fire-safety testing, in accordance with the state’s building code, officials said. The state code is based on national standards, and regulators in the United States have required such testing since 1998.

Several news reports said Massachusetts recently scaled back testing regulations that would have allowed such building materials. But state officials said that is not true.

“The Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards takes its responsibility to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth seriously and to ensuring that all buildings are safe and meet the proper building code requirements,’’ said a statement from Chris Goetcheus, a spokesman for the state’s Division of Professional Licensure.

The state’s building code right now matches the national standards for fire-safety testing of high rises.

State officials are working to update Massachusetts’ building code, and the proposed revisions would allow builders to forgo fire-related testing in some cases that national standards don’t allow for.

However, none of the exceptions would allow for high rises to be built using the type of highly flammable skin, or cladding, found in the 24-story Grenfell Tower where at least 80 people perished June 14.

Fire experts said proposals to amend local building codes in ways that deviate from national standards can raise questions.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the proposals would make buildings more dangerous. Local jurisdictions make code amendments all the time for a wide range of reasons.

Experts said there are several reasons why fire-related building code rules are generally less restrictive for shorter buildings than they are for taller buildings and high rises.

For one, the ladders, hoses, and other equipment firefighters use to try to contain fires can reach lower structures more easily. Shorter buildings are also easier to evacuate and tend to hold fewer people.

Cost considerations might also come into play. Testing the flammability of exterior wall materials can be expensive — in the range of $30,000 to $50,000.

The cladding in London’s Grenfell Tower consisted of two sheets of aluminum that sandwich a combustible core of polyethylene.

According to experts, no aluminum cladding made with pure polyethylene has ever passed the testing required for construction of taller buildings in the United States. As a result, US building codes have effectively banned such flammable cladding in high-rises for nearly two decades.

In Britain, fire safety tests of at least 600 high-rises were ordered after the fire at Grenfell Tower.

As of Thursday, 137 high-rise buildings there were found to have used materials similar to what was used at Grenfell Tower and had failed safety tests.

Material from wire services was included in this report. Matt Rocheleau can be reached at matthew.rocheleau@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mrochele.