Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Directs Department of Education to survey fire suppression systems in public and nonpublic school buildings.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring a survey of fire suppression systems currently installed in public and nonpublic school buildings.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Education shall conduct a survey of fire suppression systems in all public and nonpublic school buildings in the State and shall provide those results to the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs. The survey shall include the following information for each building:
(1) whether a fire suppression system is installed and operational;
(2) the year in which an existing fire suppression system was installed, and any year in which additional piping or standpipes were added to the system or an additional system was installed in the same structure;
(3) the cost of curing any defect if an installed fire suppression system is not fully operational; and
(4) the cost of a reinstallation or annual maintenance of a fire suppression system that is inadequate or not fully operational.
b. The survey required pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be completed by the Department of Education, and published by the Division of Fire Safety and posted on its Internet website, no later than the first day of the third January next following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Department of Education to conduct a survey of fire suppression systems in all public and nonpublic school buildings in the State and to provide those results to the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs. Many school buildings in the State were constructed decades ago and do not have adequate fire suppression systems installed, and many others have systems that are not fully operational. The State cannot properly address this serious problem without accurate information regarding the status of fire suppression systems in every school building in the State. This bill would provide the appropriate agencies with the information necessary to take appropriate action in the future.
For each building, the survey required by the bill would have to include the following information:
(1) whether a fire suppression system is installed and operational;
(2) the year in which an existing fire suppression system was installed and any year in which additional piping or standpipes were added to the system or an additional system was installed in the same structure;
(3) the cost of curing any defect if an installed fire suppression system is not fully operational; and
(4) the cost of a reinstallation or annual maintenance of a fire suppression system that is inadequate or not fully operational.
The bill requires that the survey be completed by the Department of Education, and published by the Division of Fire Safety and posted on its Internet website, no later than the first day of the third January next following the effective date of this bill.