That is very interesting and congrats to New Jersey. I lived in Nashville when the NHS fire occurred and I recall the local discussions well. The sprinkler company I worked for then got the contract when NHS voluntarily decided to sprinkle its facilities in Tennessee. I designed a few myself. One of the fatalities in the Nashville NHS fire was the mother of a responding Battalion Chief I believe.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of John Drucker Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 9:05 AM To: [email protected] Subject: NJ DCA ADOPTS NEW NURSING HOME SPRINKLER RULE 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. _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum
