Firefighters Regroup, Educate Following Fatal Point Beach Motel Fire

An improperly disposed cigarette was the cause of two fires - a fatal one in Point Pleasant Beach in March, and a school fire in Edison.

That's a typical cause. But what is the typical form of prevention?

The New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board will be holding a demonstration on prevention on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to show New Jersey residents that they are not as safe as they thought. 

The event will be held in the Rutgers area, at 59 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, near Foran Hall Campus

David Kurasz, executive director of the New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, plans to discuss:

• Current Statue of motels/hotels and what families can do to stay safe when staying in a hotel that does not have fire sprinklers
• Current status of New Jersey schools and what it takes for them to be equipped with fire sprinkler systems
• Current status of legislation in New Jersey to make it a requirement for all newly constructed one- and two-family homes as well as townhomes in the state to be equipped with residential fire sprinkler systems 
• Fire safety tips which will help residents protect their families in the place where they should feel the safest -- their homes!
• The life and property-saving benefits of residential fire sprinklers, including insurance discounts
• Common myths and misconceptions about fire sprinklers

There will also be a side-by-side demonstration features two identical rooms; however, one room has a sprinkler system and the other does not. 

A fire will be ignited in both of the rooms, and the demonstration shows the speed at which a house fire reaches flash-over (the point at which everything in the house will ignite), and the speed at which fire sprinklers put out the fire.

The NJFSAB is a cooperative partnership advocating installation and proper care of fire sprinkler systems as a highly effective means of helping save lives and property.

Headquartered in North Brunswick, N.J., the board is comprised of local leaders, contractors, businesses and unionized personnel representing fire sprinkler construction, production, distribution and installation. For more information, please visit www.njfsab.org.

The investigation is ongoing, officials said, and anyone with information regarding the fire is asked to contact Detective Thomas Haskell, Jr. of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027 or the confidential tip line atwww.oceancountyprosecutor.org.