New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board

News
As an organization concerned with fire and public safety, we track and respond to news of fire, fire fatalities and fire safety legislation that occurs in New Jersey. Below is a link to a very comprehensive news source – Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com – for up-to-date information on the latest in fire incidences.

On January 25, a fire struck the top floors of the Monte Carlo Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Luckily, fire sprinklers were installed in these floors to contain the fire and keep damage to a minimum. There were no reported injuries or deaths. Fire sprinklers helped save the day with this fire, compared to the tragic MGM Grand fire in the 1980’s that took the lives of 40 people. It was after the MGM Grand fire that hotels in Las Vegas heavily considered more strict fire protection measures.

On January 3, Fire Lieutenant John H. Martinson lost his life while battling a high-rise fire at the Crown Heights apartment building in Brooklyn, NY. His efforts helped saved the lives of his team as well as 1,000 residents.

On September 17, 2007, the Department of Community Affairs submitted a rule proposal to the New Jersey register that would require all high-rises in the state to install fire sprinklers. This kicked-off a 90-day comment period, which ended on December 17, 2007. The Department of Community Affairs is still considering action on this proposal, and has until September 17 of 2008 to do so.

On June 20, our organization in partnership with the NFSA-NJ Chapter raised over $10,000 for the St. Barnabas Burn Foundation through the NFSA-NJ Chapter annual golf outing in Branchburg, NJ. We thank all of those who attended for your generous sponsorship and support to this worthy cause.

On June 19, a tragic fire occurred at the Sofa Super Store in Charleston, SC, where nine fire fighters lost their lives on duty. Our heart goes out to these families. In the wake of the fire, our organization assisted the National Fire Sprinkler Association to speak out nationwide on how fire sprinklers would have prevented these deaths and in hopes of preventing future tragedies. To view this the ABC World News Tonight coverage of this national response, click here.

In Rochester, NY on May 25, a 56% majority of the code officials present voted in favor of adding residential fire sprinklers to the International Residential Code. While the vote itself fell shy of the two-thirds necessary to add it to the code, residential fire sprinklers received resounding support from council leaders, fire fighters and the attending public. We strongly encourage communities to keep up the pressure and continue advocating fire safety and security for local families by voicing your support of residential fire sprinklers.

On May 4, the NJ State Assembly, with a resounding 37-0 in favor, voted into law that all cigarettes sold in NJ will now be self-extinguishing and fire-safe. The law will take effect on June 1, 2008.

On January 2, the New Jersey Division of Codes and Standards implemented revisions that will now require all nursing homes in the state of New Jersey to have fire sprinklers. This revision will require an estimated 48 nursing homes to install retrofit fire sprinklers within the next three years, before June 2010