New Jersey State Career Chiefs present award to Assemblyman Jack Conners at the Florence Township Fire Department

Career Fire Chief's Association today honor Assemblyman Jack Conners, for sponsoring and passing legislation that would establish fire safety standards for cigarettes, making them less likely to ignite and cause fires. .
The bill can help save lives and prevent injury as well as untold amounts of property damage in New Jersey. "Cigarettes are the leading cause of fire deaths in the United States," said Conners (D-Pennsauken). "Fires started by cigarettes don't just harm careless smokers. Family, friends, and firefighters also can be killed or injured in these types of fires. Considering how common cigarette fires are, more preventative measures are necessary."

See the media release about this award below with additional pictures.
 

CAREER FIRE CHIEF'S HONOR
CONNERS FOR FIRE PROTECTION LEGISLATION
New Law will Mandate Manufacture of Cigarettes That Adhere
to Established Fire Safety Performance Standards

(FLORENCE) - Career Fire Chief's Association today honor Assemblyman Jack Conners, for sponsoring and passing legislation that would establish fire safety standards for cigarettes, making them less likely to ignite and cause fires. .
The bill can help save lives and prevent injury as well as untold amounts of property damage in New Jersey. "Cigarettes are the leading cause of fire deaths in the United States," said Conners (D-Pennsauken). "Fires started by cigarettes don't just harm careless smokers. Family, friends, and firefighters also can be killed or injured in these types of fires. Considering how common cigarette fires are, more preventative measures are necessary."
"Many injuries and deaths are caused by unattended cigarettes," said Thomas Dolghan, Fire Chief Harrison Township. "Cigarette fires can cause irreversible physical, psychological and financial damage to those affected. Worst of all, many of these tragedies could have been easily averted," said Tony Correia, Director of Fire Services, Burlington Township.
Assembly Bill 2575 - the "Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity and Firefighter Protection Act" - requires the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety to develop fire safety standards for cigarettes sold in New Jersey. The standards would ensure that a cigarette stops burning within a specified amount of time or that it meets performance standards designed by the division to decrease the risk of igniting upholstered furniture, mattresses, and other household furnishings.
The low-ignition cigarettes are wrapped with two to three additional thin bands of less porous paper. The extra paper bands act to slow the burning of a cigarette and, if left unattended, cause the cigarette to self-extinguish. New York was the first state to mandate these cigarettes. Reportedly, there is no difference in the taste of the product, and the cigarettes do not require smokers to inhale any harder.

Under the bill, no cigarettes would be sold or offered for sale in New Jersey until manufacturers certify, in writing, to the division and the Office of the Attorney General that the cigarettes meet the state's fire-safety standards. The division would then notify licensed cigarette retailers of manufactured brands that are acceptable to be sold within the state.
Data from New York after their low-ignition cigarette law went into effect show a 35 percent reduction in fire deaths during the first half of 2004 and a month-by-month reduction for the for the second half of the year.
Wholesale dealers who violate the act would be subject to up to $75,000 in fines for each sale of unsafe cigarettes. Retail dealers would face up to $500 in fines for each sale of 1,000 or fewer cigarettes and up to $1,000 in fines for each sale of over 1,000 cigarettes. These fines would be used to fund enforcement of the act by the division.
The legislation incorporates recent strengthening amendments to New York State's landmark law and to conform it to laws passed in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. The bill retains the testing requirement and stringent fire safety standards that are the result of more than 25 years of research by organizations such as the National Fire Protection Agency, which has ardently supported the bill, along with many local fire chiefs from the Seventh Legislative District and across the state.
Under the provisions of the bill, cigarette manufacturers have approximately one year from now to comply with the new standards before the law takes effect.