Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
AFSA Trains From Beginner to Next Level Designers
The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) has design on its mind and your designers in mind! The association offers two schools to train your layout technicians: Beginning for new designers and Intermediate for those ready to advance their skills to the next level.
“Great designers aren’t born; they’re trained,” says AFSA President Bob Caputo, CFPS. “Experience, combined with AFSA’s online and classroom training, can accelerate the process of training your people. Send them to us, and we will send them back better.”
BEGINNING DESIGN SCHOOL
Immerse yourself in NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems (2022 edition), and build a strong foundation in fire sprinkler system design. AFSA’s Beginning Design School provides a comprehensive, hands-on approach to preparing fire sprinkler drawings from start to finish.
The three-week course features a blend of virtual and in-person learning with six live webinars, self-paced modules, and exercises focused on installation and design requirements. Q&A and open-discussion sessions support deeper understanding.
Following the webinar portion, a week of in-person instruction reinforces these concepts as students prepare fire sprinkler layouts, shop drawings, and hydraulic calculations by hand—without the use of CAD or third-party software. This manual approach ensures that future designers thoroughly understand the inputs required by software programs and how to interpret their outputs, strengthening both technical accuracy and professional judgment. The course concludes with a comprehensive exam covering NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, installation rules, layout concepts, and hydraulic calculations.
These foundational design skills help prepare participants for the NICET Water-Based Systems Layout certification exams, provide prep for the NFPA Certified Water-Based Systems Professional (CWBSP) credential, and strengthen readiness for other industry credentialing tests.
AFSA’s Beginning Design School will prepare the student to:
- Interpret building plans and construction types to apply proper sprinkler spacing requirements.
- Determine proper system layouts and installation methods.
- Analyze sprinkler specifications, shop drawings, technical data sheets, and flow test results.
- Identify sprinkler types, system types, pipe types, hangers, fittings, & system components.
- Explain coordination requirements with plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and structural trades.
- Perform hand-drawn system layouts and hydraulic calculations, and evaluate hydraulic inputs to understand computer-generated outputs.
- Navigate NFPA 13 effectively to locate and apply design and installation requirements.
“The instruction and explanations were excellent. Josh and Eric were great,” says Logan Nail, Four Feathers Alarm, Denison, Texas, who took the school earlier this year. “Every course I’ve taken with AFSA has been leagues above the other industry courses I’ve had. The instruction is always clear and informative, the instructors are likable and helpful, and the facility is great.”
AFSA’s Beginning Design School offers 7.6 CEUs, 76 CPDs, and 76 Contact Hours. This class is designed for trainees and entry-level technicians with at least six months of experience, as well as those with experience in the sprinkler trade looking to make the transition to system layout.
Upcoming schools are scheduled for May 26-June 19 with in-person training being held in Exton, Penn., and June 30-July 24 with in-person training being held at the AFSA Training Lab. For more details and to register, visit firesprinkler.org/design.
INTERMEDIATE DESIGN SCHOOL
Ready to take your designers to the next level? AFSA’s Intermediate Design School helps experienced layout technicians develop a deeper understanding of standpipe systems, fire pumps, seismic protection, and general storage design using Autodesk® Revit® and key NFPA standards. Students will strengthen the tools they use daily while expanding their technical knowledge of NFPA 13; NFPA 14, Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems; and NFPA 20, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection.
The blended-learning course begins with an orientation and six hours of webinar content that introduces the Revit® toolsets used to model sprinkler systems and support the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process. Students then participate in five days of in-person instruction focused on applying design and installation requirements for general storage, laying out and calculating seismic protection, designing and calculating standpipe systems, and selecting and sizing fire pumps. The course also covers detailed seismic protection and sway bracing requirements.
These intermediate design skills help prepare participants for the NICET Water-Based Systems Layout certification exams, provide prep for the NFPA Certified Water-Based Systems Professional (CWBSP) credential, and strengthen readiness for other industry credentialing tests. Students also learn to:
- Classify commodities and storage arrangements for proper sprinkler selection.
- Compare installation requirements for CMDA, CMSA, and ESFR sprinklers.
- Model and confirm sprinkler installations in Revit® to confirm compliance with NFPA requirements.
- Determine the correct components, installation, and design criteria for standpipe systems.
- Develop shop drawings incorporating seismic bracing and sway brace requirements.
- Select an appropriate fire pump based on water supply and system demand, and verify performance using computer modeling.
This school offers 4.7 CEUs, 47 CPDs, and 47 Contact Hours. The required computer hardware and software for this course are included for AFSA members. This class is designed for competent trainees and technicians with at least one year of system layout experience. No prior Hydratec or Autodesk® Revit® experience is required. Students should be computer-literate.
The next Intermediate Design School will be held April 27–May 8, with in-person training at AFSA’s Training Lab in Dallas, Texas. To learn more and register, visit firesprinkler.org/nextlevel.
“Josh is a very good teacher, explaining things in a manner that made some of the technical parts of our jobs more understandable. His analogies were a great way to paint a better picture as well,” comments Jordan Todd with Foothill Fire Protection, Inc., Rocklin, Calif., who took the intermediate course. “I enjoyed how he made sure we were all on the same page and kept up with his instructions. I also enjoyed his enthusiasm for the industry.”
Introduced in 2023, the Bill Phair Design School Scholarship Program aids in training fire sprinkler layout technicians for AFSA Contractor members in Categories 1-3. A limited number of scholarships have been allocated to this program and assists students wanting to attend the beginning and intermediate schools taught by AFSA.
The program is named for Bill Phair, area sales manager for Ferguson Fire & Fabrication. Phair was a long-time volunteer with AFSA and active on local and national levels, including AFSA’s Manufacturers/Supplier (M/S) Council and Public Education & Awareness Committee. He was a dedicated member of the fire protection industry and an advocate for public awareness of sprinklers and training and education for the industry. His passion was a catalyst for creating this program in 2022. With his untimely passing in the following year, AFSA renamed this program in his honor.
Scholarship entries are accepted through the AFSA Design School Scholarship website. Scholarship funds are payable to the designer’s employer to be used towards travel expenses. The registration fee is waived for scholarship recipients. Chosen designers must enroll and complete the school within the calendar year. AFSA Contractor members and their employee are encouraged to complete the online application together. To read more details and to enter, visit firesprinkler.org/designscholarship.