To: ASFA Forum
From: John Drucker, Fire Protection Subcode Official/NJ
________________________________
For Immediate Release:
January 3, 2007
Contact:
Sean Darcy, (609) 292-6055
DCA ADOPTS NEW NURSING HOME SPRINKLER RULE
All New Jersey Nursing Homes To Have Automatic Sprinkler Systems
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' (DCA)
Commissioner Susan Bass Levin today announced that all nursing homes in
New Jersey will now be required to have automatic sprinkler systems.
The rule went into effect on January 2, 2007.
"Sprinklers are vital to fire protection and play a major role in
reducing the chance of fire fatalities," said Commissioner Levin. "This
requirement is a major step forward in insuring the safety of the
state's seniors as well those who work in nursing homes."
The newly adopted rule amends the retrofit requirements of the State's
Uniform Fire Code (N.J.A.C 5:70-4.7), which previously had allowed
nursing homes constructed of noncombustible materials to be exempt from
the sprinkler system requirement. These types of structures, however,
still pose the risk of fatal fire due to combustible building contents.
Nursing home owners will have three years from January 2, 2007, to bring
their facilities into compliance.
"New Jersey has been a leader in resident fire safety measures for
decades," said Paul Langevin, President of the Health Care Association
of New Jersey. "This measure is the final step in providing protection
to residents who reside in long term care facilities."
Analysis by the National Fire Protection Association has shown that
nursing home fire related fatalities can be reduced by as much as 82%
when an automatic sprinkler system is present. A 2004 report by the
Government Accountability Office on nursing home safety concluded that
sprinklers are considered to be the single most effective fire
protection feature and that there has never been a multiple-death fire
in a fully sprinklered nursing home. The report is available at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04660.pdf.
For more information on the new sprinkler requirements, please log on to
http://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/ or call 609-292-7899.
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