The University of Maryland in College Park's Department of Fire Protection Engineering, was founded in 1956, and offers the only fully accredited undergraduate degree in fire protection engineering. The school has a three-credit, water-based fire protection systems design class with a fluid mechanics class as a prerequisite, and a heat and mass transfer class as a co-requisite. The course requires students to complete the design of an automatic sprinkler system for a building. Students must also classify the fire hazard in the building, design the fire sprinklers using nationally-approved standards, designate locations for all sprinklers in the building and evaluate the water-supply needs for the system. Subjects covered include water supplies, basic automatic sprinkler system design and special hazards and applications.
TruPower Inc., based in Loganville, Georgia, has established training programs in such specialties as air conditioning, electrical, carpentry and welding. The company offers an on-site sprinkler systems and fire protection program that trains students in sprinkler system types, hydraulic calculations and National Fire Protection Association codes and standards. Covered topics include water supplies, water-flow testing, water supply types and automatic fire sprinkler design and layout. Training can be customized for facilities such as shopping malls, hospitals, warehouses and auditoriums.
The American Fire Sprinkler Association has created a three-level correspondence course in applied sprinkler technology. This course gives designers comprehensive training in all aspects of fire sprinkler design and technology. Tests can be taken on paper or on the Internet. The first level of the course covers subjects such as piping materials, piping supports, basic building layout and sprinkler spacing rules. The second level of the program includes training in water demand requirements, water supplies, pipe schedule systems, basic hydraulics and pipe offsets. The third level deals with fire pump design, inspection and maintenance, project management, NFPA standards and fire pump design. Each level comes with a textbook and costs 450 dollars as of 2011. The online test method is free, but if you choose a paper test, the price is 50 dollars for each test.
Delaware Technical and Community College with campuses in Georgetown, Stanton, Dover and Wilmington, offers an Associate of Applied Science in Fire Protection Engineering Technology. This two-year program provides students with education in fire prevention planning, fire safety and fire protection system design. First-year classes include introduction to fire protection design, sprinkler and alarm systems and water supply analysis. Second-year classes cover topics such as industrial fire hazards, inspections and loss control procedures.