Fire Prevention Bureau

Charles F. Shirley, Jr.
Fire Marshal
965 Broadway
West Long Branch, NJ 07764
(732) 571-4298
cshirley@westlongbranch.org

What is the Fire Prevention Bureau?
The primary goal of the Fire Prevention Bureau is to prevent fires by
assuring that all publicly occupied structures are maintained in
accordance with nationally recognized fire safety standards. The Fire
Prevention Bureau has been established to promote fire safety in the
Borough of West Long Branch for many years now. Due to the high increase
in loss of life during the 1970's and 1980's, the State of New Jersey
adopted The Uniform Fire Codes of New Jersey. These codes help business
and homeowners create a safer working and living condition.
Currently the Fire Prevention Bureau consists of a part time Fire
Marshal and a part time Inspector. The Fire Official or Fire Marshal is
Charles F. Shirley Jr. He oversees all inspections of commercial
buildings and businesses which are designated as Life Hazard Uses and/or
Non-Life Hazard Uses. The Fire Marshal's Office also helps businesses
in the town to set up and operate within the guidelines of the New
Jersey State Uniform Fire Code. The Fire Marshal's Office also responds
throughout the Borough to complaints that are reported. Some complaints
may consist of open burning, fire alarm activations, structural fires,
commercial fires, illegal fireworks, and fire lane blockages.
The Fire Marshal's Office is available to provide fire safety training
for the businesses and schools in the Borough of West Long Branch.
Lectures on fire extinguisher training and evacuation planning are some
topics that are provided.
Another important function of the Fire Marshal�s Office is to respond to
and investigate all reported fires or explosions occurring within the
Borough. The Fire Marshal�s Office assists other agencies with the
determination of the origin and cause of the fire. These investigations
are performed in conjunction with the West Long Branch Police
Department, Monmouth County Fire Marshal�s Office, and Monmouth County
Prosecutors Office.

Commercial and Business Inspections

Every commercial building and business in the Borough must be inspected to ensure that all buildings abide by the Uniform Fire Codes of New Jersey. Some of the more common found violations that are found by the Fire Prevention Bureau are:

Blocked Fire Exits- All Exit doors must be kept clear at all times.
Exit lights not illuminated- Exits lights must be light at all times.
Emergency Lights not working- these lights provide light to the occupants in case of emergency.
Fire Extinguisher Maintenance- these must be maintained tested yearly, the testing company will place a tag on each extinguisher showing when the last test date was.
Fire Extinguishers required- Each business should have at least one fire extinguisher is a 2a 20bc. Please check with the Fire Prevention Bureau for how many is required.
General house cleaning- Do not let items that can easily catch on fire accumulate.
Extension cord: These are only permitted for use as a temporary power source, such as plugging in a drill. Extension cords are prohibited as a permanent means of a power source.

There are many more violations that can be cited, Please check with the Bureau if you have any questions.

Truss Construction Signs

You may see around the town triangular shaped emblems mounted by the front doors of businesses, or on top of street signs. There will be either �R�, an �F�, or an �R/F�, in the center of this triangular sign. This helps the Fire Department identify which structures use this type of construction.

Click here to view Truss Building Identifying Emblems page.

Rapid Entry System (Knox- Box)

The KNOX-BOX® Rapid Entry System provides non-destructive emergency access to commercial and residential property. More than 10,500 fire departments and government agencies use Knox key boxes (keybox, keyboxes), vaults, cabinets, key switches, padlocks, locking FDC plugs and electronic key retention units for safe and secure rapid entry.

Click here to connect to the Knox Company site.

Home Fire Safety Information

In recent times, while doing our in-house fire prevention programs, we find that a lot of children do not know their fire escape plan.
We also find, while doing inspections on selling homes or investigating complaints, that people do know what fire safety issues to look for in their own homes.

Click here to access a home fire escape planning sheet.

Click here to access a home fire safety checklist, game.

Public Education

The Bureau is available for civic meetings and businesses to discuss and promote fire safety. The bureau also teaches at the various schools during Fire Prevention Week along with the local fire departments. Some of the many topics we can discuss with your group are as follows: