Case History:
New Jersey Fire Sprinkler High-Rise Fire Demonstration & Press Event

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs – with support from the New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board – proposed regulations that would install complete fire sprinkler coverage in the state’s unprotected high-rises. From years of political involvement, our client believed that these regulations would need to be well supported by officials and the fire community in order to be successful. Accomplishing this on behalf of our client took diligence in identifying credible partners for our message and successfully executing a compelling event.

Many of our nation’s most tragic fires occur in high-rise buildings that lack fire sprinkler protection. In states like New Jersey, where only half of all high-rises have fire sprinklers, they pose a significant public safety threat to the lives of citizens and fire service professionals. However, years of opposition from building owners and tenant associations have hindered the progress of fire safety advocates to close this public safety gap. That’s why when the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs proposed regulations for all high-rises to install fire sprinklers, the New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board (NJFSAB) knew that regulations would need a strong, immediate show of awareness and support in order to be successful. Strong awareness combined with a compelling argument held the key to the regulation’s success.

But it would not be easy. The regulations were challenged by the building owners and tenant associations who claimed fire sprinklers were too expensive to install and that current fire safety measures in high-rise buildings were sufficient. Both of these myths would need to be addressed by a compelling enough argument for the regulations to gain credibility among target audiences.

To provide the Department of Community Affairs with a strong show of support, R&J created a fire demonstration and press conference event to: 1) Communicate a compelling visual message on the benefits of fire sprinklers that would negate the opposition’s key arguments, 2) Encourage fire officials and fire professionals to communicate their support of high-rise fire sprinkler retrofit to the state 3) Generate media attention to build public awareness around the issue of fire and life safety. We determined that using a visual presentation – side-by-side “rooms” being lit on fire with a fire sprinkler putting one fire out – to show how fire sprinklers physically extinguish a fire, compared to a fire left-unchecked, would provide the compelling and visually appealing argument, showing first hand the benefits and immediate impact of a fire sprinkler. Secondly, we aggressively reached out and recruited the participation of the New Jersey Fire Commission and the Middlesex County Fire Academy to host our event. Lastly, we reached out to leaders of state and national fire protection organizations to act as presenters for our press conference, giving instant credibility and weight to the issue.

The two phases of the event worked well to entice media attention. The event kicked-off with the side-by-side room demonstration. The first room set on fire was left to burn, and within three minutes achieved flashover in a fireball of heat and smoke. The fire sprinkler installed in the second room, however, activated in less than 30 seconds and had extinguished the fire in less than 60 seconds. (Reference: NJFSAB Side-by-Side Demonstration Video). Immediately following the fire demonstration, the Presidents of the New Jersey Fire Prevention & Protection Agency and the National Fire Sprinkler Association announced the need and proposal of retrofit fire sprinklers in New Jersey. Joining them, a member of the National Fire Sprinkler Association Common Voices Coalition shared the story of her husband, a fire captain in New York City, who died during a high-rise fire three years earlier. Each presenter gave compelling arguments to support the high-rise retrofit issue, all with fire community united in attendance and cameras rolling.

More than 100 New Jersey leaders and fire officials attended the event to show support for fire sprinklers, representing counties from across the whole state. In addition to fire officials, the event received an outpouring of coverage. New York and New Jersey-based TV affiliates for CBS, UPN My 9 News, NJN News, and News 12 New Jersey all attended the event.

Click here to view coverage clips from the event.

Reporters from The Star-Ledger and Home News Tribune developed half-page stories on the issue, while the Home News Tribune recorded video of the event for a feature on its Web site. Click here to view viral/online video coverage from the Home News Tribune.

News reporters from NJ 101.5 and Magic 98.3 interviewed our speakers remotely to develop segments for their listeners to air all week long. In the days following the event, reporters from the Asbury Park Press and Bergen Record wrote in-depth stories on high-rise regulations using information from our event. All in all, the event achieved more than 3.1 million media impressions with a publicity value of $446,000.

More importantly to the cause, in the 60 days following the event, the Department of Community Affairs received more than 40 letters of support directly from fire officials, community leaders and state-wide fire organizations, speaking on behalf of an estimated 200,000 members of the fire fighting community in New Jersey and nationally, in support of high-rise retrofit regulations, all which are under review currently by the department’s commissioner. The opposition, who attended the NJFSAB’s event uninvited, saw the fire demonstration discredited their arguments against the effectiveness of fire sprinklers.