One-third of New Jerseyans come up short in house fire prevention, Rutgers poll says

One-third of New Jerseyans do not possess the three devices needed to keep them safe at home in the event of a fire, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton poll focused on public health issues.

Every home should have a smoke detector, a fire extinguisher and a carbon monoxide detector. But one-third say they are missing a carbon monoxide detector, a fire extinguisher, or both, and as a result are missing out on a way to protect themselves, said William Halperin, chair of preventive medicine at New Jersey Medical School.

“While nearly every New Jersey home appears to have a smoke detector, we need to be at 100 percent for all three safety devices,” Halperin said.

It's not enough just to have the devices; they need to be checked to make sure they are working. But only 61 percent reported they have checked to see if their fire extinguishers were operational in the last year, the poll said. Nearly 90 percent of those who have smoke and carbon monoxide devices said they check them annually.

In 2012, 86 people died from fire-related injuries in New Jersey, including one firefighter, according to the most recent data from the state Department of Community Affairs. The vast majority of fatal fires, 88 percent, occurred in people's homes. Fires also injured 398 firefighters and 230 civilians two years ago.

In 2014, the U.S. Fire Administration has identified media reports of 55 fire fatalities in the state.

The poll is based on the responses from 871 New Jerseyans contacted by phone from July 28 to Aug. 5. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

This is the second public health policy poll produced by the Rutgers-Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling and the medical school.

"Today's results are another example of how our new partnership will allow us to get a better handle on health and safety in New Jersey," said David Redlawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll and professor of political science at Rutgers University.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.