COUNTY FIRE PREVENTION ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

DIVISION UPDATES – July 2010

 

  • All of the NJDFS personnel that were based in the Bordentown office have now moved to the DCA Building at 101 South Broad Street in Trenton.  Some will be heading to the 7th Floor, the rest to the 6th Floor.  

 

  • At the May 19th Fire Safety Commission meeting, Commissioner Schilling reported that there are issues regarding windowless basements.  The definition of a windowless basement has been the subject of some discussion and needs clarification.  Michael Whalen of the Division of Codes & Standards reported that a crawl space does not meet the definition of basement.  The NJDFS is finding that there has been some confusion in these situations in urban locations where there is a door into a space that has meters or equipment.  This will be examined further by the Codes Council and has been added to the agenda of the Subchapter 4 Committee.

 

  • The State of New Jersey Highway Incident Traffic Safety Guidelines for Emergency Responders has been posted on the Division of Fire Safety Website at www.state.nj.us/dca/dfs.  The purpose of this document is to provide uniform operational guidelines to ensure safe operations by emergency responders dispatched to incidents on limited access highways in the State of New Jersey.

 

  • Division of Fire Safety’s NFIRS Unit reports there are currently 36 fire departments that were awarded Federal grants which are being held by the Federal Government because the departments have not participated (or only partially participated) in the NFIRS reporting program.  The number of civilian fire fatalities so far this year is 40. Twenty-one of those took place in single family dwellings (52%) and twelve were in multiple family dwellings (30%). At the same time last year there were a total of 49 civilian fire fatalities. The percentage of reporting departments for 2010, so far, is 69%. The percentage for 2009 is 94%.

 

  • There are two more ICC National Certification Examination and FEE66 Fire Inspector I Based on 2006 International Codes testing for new inspectors scheduled.  The first test will be held at the Middlesex County Fire Academy, 1001 Fire Academy Drive, Sayreville, NJ 08872, Site Code 5185.  The exam date is September 11, 2010, 8:00 a.m. and the deadline to register is August 13, 2010.  The second offering will be held at the Ocean County Fire Academy, 200 Volunteer Way, Waretown, NJ 08758, Site Code 5186.  The exam date is December 11, 2010, 8:00 a.m. and the deadline to register is November 12, 2010.  The cost of the exam is $180.  The information bulletin may be obtained from ICC at www.iccsafe.org/exams or call 1-888-422-7233, ext. 5524.  The test information along with the applications may be found on the DFS Website at www.state.nj.us/dca/dfs.

·         About 200 fireworks injuries a day during month surrounding the holiday

Washington, DC — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wants consumers to put safety in play if fireworks are part of your Fourth of July celebrations. A new CPSC study indicates that in 2009 there were two deaths and nearly 9,000 emergency room visits for injuries resulting from fireworks related incidents. Most fireworks injuries occurred to consumers younger than 20 and resulted in the loss of a limb in many cases.

  • The next meeting of the Fire Safety Commission will be on July 21, 2010 at 10am.  It will be held at the Toms River Fire Academy in Toms River, NJ.

 

 

 

 

DIVISION UPDATES, July 2010 – continued

 

 

  • The Local Assistance Unit has compiled a list of the most frequent deficiencies identified during monitoring visits.  Please take a moment to review the list in order to ensure your LEA is in compliance.
    1. N.J.A.C. 5:71-3.7(b) requires the use of inspection reports on all inspections.  Field representatives identified incomplete property files;
    2. N.J.A.C. 5:70-4, deficiencies related to enforcement of the “retrofit” portions of the State’s Fire Safety Code;
    3. N.J.A.C. 5:71-3.7(g) requires that copies of annual test reports of fire protection systems in accordance with NFPA 25 and fire alarm test reports in accordance with NFPA 72 are maintained in the LEA property files;
    4. N.J A.C. 5:71-3.3(a)17. states that the fire official shall “supervise the work of any assigned inspectors or enforcement personnel to ensure compliance with the Code, completeness and accuracy”;
    5. N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.5 provides for the required inspection of Life Hazard Uses. Field representatives have identified annual and quarterly LHU inspections are not being conducted;
    6. N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.1(b) provides for the required inspection of Non-Life Hazard Uses.  Field representatives have identified NLHU inspections not being conducted;
    7. N.J.A.C. 5:71-2.6(d) states that all revenue pursuant to the Act and implementing ordinance which are collected by or provided to the municipality shall be appropriated to the local enforcing agency by the municipality;
    8. N.J.A.C. 5:71-3.3(a)10. requires the fire official shall  “account for all fees and penalties collected”. Many fire officials do not maintain records of their annual budget, permit and penalty trust accounts.
    9. N.J.A.C. 5:71-3.4 (a)1. requires records to be kept on file. Field representatives in reviewing random files did not find copies of occupancy loads in those files.  Also, N.J.A.C. 5:70-3, 1003.4 requires occupant load signs be posted;
    10. N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.12A (a)1. states “Whenever any penalty is assessed pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.12, then a dedicated penalty in the like amount shall be assessed pursuant to this section.” In the review of the LEA files, field representatives found that a dedicated penalty was not assessed when a penalty under N.J.A.C 5:70-2.12 was assessed;
    11. N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.11 requires the notice of violation and order to correct be served upon the business owner/agent as prescribed. In files reviewed by field representatives, they were unable to identify how the Notice of Violation and Order to Correct were served, (no proof of service);
    12. N.J.A.C. 5:71-2.7 requires that any municipality or county that amends a resolution or an ordinance that established an enforcing agency shall file a copy of the amendment with the Division within two weeks of adoption.  Many ordinances are outdated with old code citations, etc.;
    13. N.J.A.C. 5:70-3, Chapter 4, LEA’s are not requiring emergency preparedness plans in accordance with chapter 4;
    14. N.J.A.C. 5:70-3.2(b) the municipality, fire district and the fire department shall ensure that the enforcing agency has an adequate number of inspectors to complete all necessary inspections, et seq.
    15. N.J.A.C. 5:71-2.3 requires the appointment of a fire official to the local enforcing agency.  In the absence of the fire official for reasons such as illness, vacation, etc., the municipality, county or fire district should have provisions in place appointing a back-up fire official in such cases.