Firefighters Regroup At Rutgers, Educate After Fatal Middlesex County 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.

An East Brunswick man has expressed sorrow for his role in the fire that burned the James Monroe Elementary School in Edison to the ground earlier this year.

“I want people to know that I love their kids,” said Jerome C. Higgins, his eyes welling up with tears, according to NJ.com. “There was nothing that could be worse in my life than for me to displace 500 children and inconvenience and hurt their families.”

Higgins, 48, who has worked for the Edison School System for 24 years, has been charged with a petty disorderly persons offense for smoking inside the school, according to NJ.com.

Richard O'Malley, Edison schools superintendent, said the district will rebuild the school and students will be taking classes at Middlesex Community College.

"Although we had a tragedy happen in our town, the most important thing is that no one was hurt," said O'Malley.