NJ Division of Fire Safety: TEL (609) 324-7336 FAX (609) 324-8493

MINUTES OF THE MEETING

MEMBERS PRESENT: Dan DeTrolio, Andrew Scheidler, Vincent Corsaro, Bernie Cohan.

DIVISION OF FIRE SAFETY STAFF: Charles Lavin, Jerry Clark, Charlie Luxton.

I. OPENING

Chairman Daniel DeTrolio called the meeting to order at 10:10 AM.

II. NOVELTY LIGHTER BILL

Charlie Luxton gave an update on the progress of the Novelty Lighter Bill. The bill was submitted with much of the original language, except for that concerning matches which got a lot of resistance. The Novelty/Toy-like Lighter Bill is currently awaiting Governor Corzine signature, as it has passed in both the Senate and Assembly. It is thought that perhaps the Governor is waiting until the Firemen’s Convention in September to sign the bill publicly.

III. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

In the absence of Alan Musicant, no report was given. Chairman DeTrolio reported that Mr. Musicant had sent in a letter of resignation to the Public Education Advisory Council, and will be looking to replace him shortly with someone who will concentrate on the area of recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.

IV. NEW JERSEY F.I.R.E. BOWL

Charles Lavin reported that the New Jersey FIRE Bowl’s 4^th Annual Championship at Kean University was a success. Bayonne’s PS #14 defeated Belleville Middle School’s girls in an extremely tight contest. Both the events host, Harry Martin, and the Kean University staff were extremely helpful and professional in making the day a success.

Now that Kean University has taken the reins as the FIRE Bowl’s location, the event can be more fine-tuned moving forward. Some ideas that have been floated for 2010 include video-based questions and the Kean journalism department doing vignettes on the participating student teams.

The 2010 FIRE Bowl is already in the works. A new school district, Freehold Township, has already been added to the mix for next year. This brings the grand total to five districts and counting.

V. POSTER CONTEST

Charles Lavin reported that the New Jersey Fire Safety Poster Contest Awards Luncheon took place on June 24^th. It was held at Springfield Fire Department headquarters, and was extremely well-attended by all the winners and their families. Each winner received their Dell laptop computer and printer.

The winning poster was submitted to Atlantic City Electric in June for printing. Since the winning poster was a graphic design (electronic form), the printing should move along very quickly. Once the Division of Fire Safety receives the 4,000 copies of the poster, they will be distributed to all 21 County Poster Contest Coordinators.

The theme for next year’s Poster Contest is: “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned”. Applications will be sent to all schools and fire officials within the next few weeks.

VI. SMOKE DETECTORS

Charlie Luxton reported that he is “officially” out of smoke detectors for the moment, and is expecting to receive more around late July. Over 9,000 have been distributed throughout the state so far this year.

VII. JUVENILE FIRESETTERS

Charlie Luxton reported that this year’s 6^th Annual Juvenile Firesetters Conference would be held at the Middlesex County Fire Academy on December 4-5, 2009. It is hoped that this Conference will still fit into the budget and that the partnership with IAAI will continue to be a winning formula.

VIII. NEW BUSINESS

Vincent Corsaro’s Fire Safety program for out-going high school seniors is accessible through contacting the Division of Fire Safety. It can be tweaked to be made specific to any school district/municipality. Mr. Corsaro will also be working on a piece for the Fire Focus newsletter to promote this type of program.

Charles Lavin reported that the Division of Fire Safety will be assisting the Somerset Patriots with their up-coming ‘Fire Safety Night’. The Division will be setting up a display table, as well as providing video PSA content to be played between innings.

IX. SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING & ADJOURNMENT

The next meeting of the Public Education Advisory Council is scheduled to take place at 10 A.M. on Thursday, September 10, 2009 at the Middlesex County Fire Academy.