a. Although fire safety codes have been adopted by many of New Jersey’s municipalities, many others have not adopted these codes and some of the codes which do exist have defects that limit their usefulness.

b. Although some departments of State government have responsibility for fire safety inspection in certain types of buildings, other types of buildings go unregulated; no department is empowered to establish overall minimum standards; and there is therefore no State fire safety code governing all existing buildings.

c. Few municipalities have adopted fire safety codes which require the upgrading of the fire safety provisions of existing buildings; however, so long as these buildings continue to be in use, some of them need to be upgraded in order to protect occupants of the buildings, fire fighters and the general public.

d. Although many municipalities consistently and conscientiously seek to ensure compliance with fire safety codes, others do not, and all are limited in their efforts by serious financial constraints.

e. Existing enforcement processes are often cumbersome, and penalties are often insufficient to deter violations.

f. The pattern of development in the State is such that many buildings posing significant fire safety problems are located in municipalities not equipped to deal with these problems.

g. Recent multiple-death fires in this State and elsewhere indicate the need for strict fire safety codes as minimum standards for the maintenance and upgrading of existing properties, modified as may be necessary for the special requirements of this State, and for county or State enforcement of these codes in high-rise and high-hazard structures when municipalities are unable to enforce them adequately.

L.1983, c. 383, s. 3.