On Thursday evening, the Hudson County Board of Freeholders became the latest collection of local lawmakers to endorse statewide legislation that would amend New Jersey’s construction code for fire safety reasons, and provide an added level of protection for firefighters and residents alike.
The adopted resolution supports Assembly Bill 135 and Senate Bill 1261, legislation that calls for the installation of an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with NFPA 13, measuring the number of stories from the grade plane, using noncombustible materials for construction, and installing a fire barrier with a fire resistance rating of at least two hours that extends from the foundation to the roof.
The decision to endorse the legislation comes on the heels of similarly adopted measures in the fellow New Jersey counties of Camden, Middlesex, Mercer, and Essex, along with Wall Township.
“Local lawmakers are waking up to the harsh realization that using inadequate, combustible building materials are not the solution to affordable housing concerns,” says Kevin Lawlor, spokesperson for Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association consisting of community organizations, fire safety professionals, architects, engineers and industry experts committed to strengthening the nation’s building codes. “It’s apparent developers will continue to do the bare minimum when it comes to adherence to the building code, and as such, it’s vital the New Jersey legislature moves quickly to prevent another catastrophe.”
In late December, firefighters responded to a fire at a wood-framed apartment complex in Princeton, New Jersey, that resulted in the death of a 73-year-old resident and the displacement of 35 others. The incident came after a pair of massive fires in the state in buildings constructed with combustible materials over the past couple years – namely in Maplewood and Edgewater. There have been dozens of fires of a similar nature throughout the country over the last several few years.
A September 2016 poll of 400 registered voters in New Jersey found respondents very supportive of the state making changes to building codes following the devastating Edgewater apartment complex fire in January 2015.
Local New Jersey coalition members of Build with Strength include: The New Jersey State Firefighters’ Mutual Benevolent Association, The Professional Association of Fire Fighters in New Jersey, the New Jersey State Association of County Fire Marshals, the Brigantine Beach Fire Company; the Bricklayers and Allied Crafts – New Jersey, and the Fire Departments of Burlington County and West Orange.
Learn more at www.buildwithstrength.com.
