CHAMPAIGN – Cecil Bilbo has been in the fire-sprinkler industry for 20 years, and he says most of the training for the people who design sprinkler systems comes on the job.

Bilbo is getting ready to offer what he says is the first formal education program for sprinkler-system designers that will provide practical design experience. He has founded the Academy of Fire Sprinkler Technology, and he will offer degrees in conjunction with Parkland College. The academy is scheduled to open in August.

"The people that leave our program will be ready to go to work when they graduate," he said.

He has worked as a designer for fire sprinkler contracting companies, and until recently he taught classes for the National Fire Sprinkler Association. He's now a consultant for the trade organization.

He's developed a curriculum based on what he has been teaching, and that curriculum has been approved by Parkland and the Illinois Community College Board, he said. It will cover building codes, standards for installation of sprinkler systems, building construction, computer-aided design systems to layout a blueprint, and hydraulic analysis.

Bilbo said the work is very specific and requires an understanding of how to deliver a certain amount of water over a certain area.

Students will also create sprinkler systems for a building, working on projects provided by sprinkler contractors throughout the country. Mark Karr, who owns a contracting business in Cleveland, will oversee the work-study portion of the academy and develop relationships with contractors who will send work to the academy students.

Dave Peterson will serve as director of business operations.

Jim Heinold, president of F.E. Moran Inc. Fire Protection in Champaign, agreed that even students with an education in fire sprinkler technology don't have the practical experience to design a system. His company trains new employees, but it takes time to train on the job.

"You have to know your water supply, how far sprinklers have to throw water, all the fittings in the piping. You have to do some intense hydraulic calculations," Heinold said.

"If you do have a dedicated school, and have good full-time attention of a trainer, he will show (students) how to do the physical surveys and how to do the actual job," he continued. That practical training "will give you a good jump start to come to work for a contractor like us."

Students will also take a handful of classes at Parkland. They'll be able to earn a one-year certificate or a two-year associate degree. The degree is aimed at those who will design systems for buildings, not at those who will install, inspect or maintain the systems.

Bilbo said there is a demand for trained designers in the industry, and it is a good-paying career.

"This is something that can offer jobs during the recession," he said.

F.E. Moran Inc. Fire Protection will look to the academy for new employees, and there are job opportunities around the country, Heinold said.

Bilbo is looking for a location for the academy, and he hopes to be in a space by May 1. He has received donations and pledges of support from contracting businesses and the National Fire Sprinkler Association.

The academy will accept up to 40 people the first year, and Bilbo said he already has 12 ready to apply. He said the students who will be accepted will have an aptitude for math, spatial awareness – "Everybody can't see in 3-D and can't visualize standing in a building from looking at a piece of paper." – and the desire for a good career opportunity.

"This will be a very, very challenging curriculum, and it's for people who know they can do it," Bilbo said. "The work will be hard, but it will be very rewarding."

On the Web

http://sprinkleracademy.com