New Jersey would become one of a handful of states to require that cigarettes sold in-state have extra fire protections built in, under a measure being considered in the Legislature. The proposal modeled after similar laws in New York, Vermont, California, Illinois and a newly enacted statute in New Hampshire is built on the premise that such cigarettes are less likely to cause fires if left unattended by smokers. The proposal is scheduled to be heard by an Assembly panel on June 12. The Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes estimates that 800 people die in fires started by careless smoking each year and argues on its Web site that requiring safer cigarettes would save countless lives and property. In New Jersey, the Division of Fire Safety attributed 881 residential fires and five fatalities to blazes started by cigarettes in. Quick-extinguishing cigarettes are made with paper that contains bands to slow burning tobacco. If left unattended, the burning tobacco will reach a band and go out. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., the North Carolina-based manufacturer of such brands as Camel, Winston and Kool, has been fighting the legislation in states that propose it. “We agree with the goal of reducing fires by careless handling of cigarettes,” company spokesman David Howard said. “This kind of legislation does absolutely nothing to address that.”