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Rutgers University
is required by the Pubic Employees Occupational Safety and
Health Act (PEOSHA) to develop and implement a Fire Prevention
Plan meeting the requirements
of 29 CFR 1910.39. Copies of this plan are reproduced
in this electronic format for your reference. All employees
must adhere to and be familiar with the requirements of each
plan.
Fire Prevention Plan
Under the authority
of the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety, The Rutgers University
Department of Emergency Services' Fire Safety Division is
charged with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions
of New Jersey Uniform Fire Code, and is the authority having
jurisdiction with respect to fire safety regulations, policies
and procedures. The Fire Safety Division is staffed with State
certified fire inspectors who regularly inspect all University
premises to assure compliance with fire safety regulations,
test fire protection systems and equipment, and conduct employee
training programs to familiarize staff with fire hazards and
procedures to be followed in an emergency. Furthermore, employees
are apprised of the fire hazards of the materials and processes
with which they work during state-mandated Right-to-know training.
Effective July
1, 1994, by action of the Rutgers Board of Governors, smoking
is prohibited in all University buildings and within University-owned
motor vehicles, thus eliminating the health and fire hazard
associated with the use of smoking materials. A permit system
for control of welding and cutting is in place within the
Facilities organization to control this potential fire hazard.
All other hazards are regulated through the inspection procedures.
University buildings
are equipped with fire extinguishers in accordance with the
requirements of the construction and/or fire safety codes.
Employees are not expected to utilize these devices nor are
they trained in their use due to the danger of their personal
safety, which would result from attempting to extinguish a
fire. Many buildings are protected by automatic sprinkler
systems and others are provided with fire standpipe systems.
All major buildings are equipped with automatic fire detection
and alarm systems, which are constantly, monitored at the
respective University Police Department stations. Special
hazards, such as chemical storage, high voltage electrical,
cooking, spray painting and computer installations are protected
by fixed suppression systems in addition to the aforementioned
types of built-in protection. There are no fire hoses for
building occupant use located in any University building;
only fire hose connections for fire department use exist.
The University's
Fire Safety Division is staffed by Fire Safety
Inspectors, Fire Safety Specialists, Fire Officers and Fire
Alarm System Specialists.
Fire safety inspections
generate formal, written Notices of Violation, which are issued
to the individual responsible for the correction of an observed
fire hazard. Reinspections are established and are conducted.
There is a process that is followed for granting extensions
of time for hazard abatement, as well as handling uncorrected
cited hazards.
All fire protection
systems are inspected at the frequencies required by the Uniform
Fire Code. These include automatic sprinkler systems, standpipe
systems, fixed suppression systems, fire alarm systems, emergency
power generators, fire pumps, fire extinguishers and fire
hydrants.
The Fire Safety
Division is empowered, by New Jersey Regulation, to order
the abatement of cited fire hazards, to assess penalties for
non-compliance, and to issue punitive closing notices and
vacate buildings where uncorrected hazards exist.
For further information
regarding fire safety, to request assistance in developing
office fire safety plans, or to schedule a fire safety training
session contact the Fire Safety Division at New Brunswick
at 732-932-4800.
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