EDGEWATER, NEW JERSEY
Five months after lawmakers called for a moratorium on the approval and construction of multiple-unit dwellings that utilize the same lightweight wood construction that contributed to the rapid spread of the five-alarm fire at the Avalon apartment complex, the state Assembly on June 29 introduced a bill to outright ban the type of framing in certain municipalities.
The legislation by Assemblywoman Maria Rodriguez-Gregg, R-Medford, and Assemblyman Joseph Lagana, D-Paramus, would prohibit light-frame construction in municipalities with a population density of more than 5,000 people per square mile and establish safety protocols for smaller towns, which could only use the construction in structures of three stories or less.
Rodriguez-Gregg and Lagana said the new measures are a direct response to the Avalon fire and the widespread destruction left in its wake.
"The incident highlighted the extreme speed with which the light frame construction… can reach its failure point when exposed to fire," the bill reads.
"Although the Edgewater fire caused no human fatalities, a sudden structural collapse caused by the lightweight construction that quickly fails in a fire could have devastating results for residents and first responders."
Edgewater Fire Chief Tom Jacobson blamed the apartment building's wood construction and truss-style roof for hindering firefighting efforts, saying "once [the fire] was in the walls and floors, we were chasing it." The blaze destroyed about 240 apartments and displaced more than 1,000 residents.
If the bill becomes law, low dwellings built with lightweight construction will be required to include noncombustible firewalls, an automatic sprinkler system conforming to standards outlined by the National Fire Protection Association and exterior emblems that read:
"WARNING: This structure is build with light frame construction known to the State of New Jersey to pose a fire risk to occupants."
A fire watch guard would monitor the projects during their construction and maintain a record of activities that are potential fire hazards for the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs.
The state Senate is also weighing a bill, introduced shortly after the Edgewater fire in January, that would require certain new residential buildings to have fire barriers in lofts and attics, concrete or steel frames and fire stops.