In 2024, the International Fire Suppression Alliance awarded a $56,000 grant to ANRACI — the Asociación Nacional de Rociadores Contra Incendio, Colombia’s national fire sprinkler association — to build the first university-level specialization program in fire protection in Colombia. The goal was both ambitious and urgent: create a formal, government-accredited academic pathway that gives fire protection professionals in Colombia and across Latin America the structured education they have never had.

Colombia is a rapidly urbanizing country with a growing construction sector and increasing adoption of fire protection standards. Yet the professionals who design, install, and maintain fire suppression systems have historically learned their craft on the job — without access to formal academic training grounded in NFPA, UL, and ICC standards. The result is an industry where bad practices can quietly multiply and where regulatory progress is limited by a lack of trained, credentialed professionals to implement it.

The IFSA grant gave ANRACI the resources to change that.

Building a Foundation for Formal Education

Under Colombian law, a university specialization program must provide between 900 and 1,200 hours of instruction — equivalent to at least 24 academic credits. ANRACI designed a 12-module curriculum totaling 1,152 hours, with each module delivering 96 hours of content across technical fire protection disciplines. The curriculum covers automatic suppression systems, applicable standards, installation competency, and the regulatory environment — knowledge that previously existed only in product manuals and informal workplace training.

The program is built for both b-learning (blended classroom and online) and e-learning environments, designed to reach professionals across Colombia’s geographically dispersed regions. This approach recognizes a practical reality: fire protection professionals in Medellín, Cali, or Barranquilla should have the same access to quality education as those in Bogotá.

Developing the Academic Content

The grant’s first major deliverable is the development of all 12 academic modules. Each module includes:

• Clear learning objectives aligned to professional competency outcomes
• Technical content rooted in NFPA, UL, and ICC standards
• Virtual learning objects designed for digital delivery
• Defined student evaluation methodologies
• Quality review by subject matter experts

ANRACI’s technical leader is responsible for ensuring that content accurately reflects international standards — not generic fire safety concepts, but the specific technical knowledge required to design and install dependable suppression systems. Specialist instructors are contributing to module development, bringing real-world installation and engineering experience into the academic framework.

Building the Technology Platform

Alongside content development, the grant funds the construction of an operational e-learning platform capable of hosting all 12 modules and managing student enrollment, progress tracking, and assessment. The platform development follows a structured process: platform selection, pilot testing, content upload, additional testing, and full launch. This infrastructure is essential — without it, high-quality academic content cannot reach the professionals who need it.

The platform is designed to be durable beyond the grant period, giving ANRACI the technical foundation to expand program offerings, increase enrollment, and serve professionals across Latin America as interest in formal fire protection education grows.

Securing Government Accreditation

The most consequential milestone of the project is obtaining a Qualified Academic Registration from Colombia’s higher education regulatory authority. Without official government recognition, the program cannot award credentials that employers and regulators will recognize. With it, graduates will earn the title of Fire Protection Specialist — a formally recognized professional designation backed by a Colombian university accreditation.

The accreditation process is rigorous. It requires submission of full program documentation, an in-person review by academic peers appointed by the regulatory authority, evaluation of compliance with national standards, and formal resolution of any identified gaps. The timeline is realistic: approval can take up to one year from the peer review visit.

To reduce dependence on this single pathway, ANRACI is pursuing parallel tracks in parallel. These include participation in national standardization committees, engagement with SENA (Colombia’s national vocational training authority) through its Sector Roundtables to develop labor competency standards, and active collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment, the National Fire Department of Colombia, and the Colombian Society of Engineers. These relationships strengthen the accreditation case and build the broader institutional support that sustains a new academic field.

Why This Matters

Across Colombia and much of Latin America, fire protection professionals lack any formal academic pathway. They enter the field through employer training, manufacturer courses, or self-study — highly variable in quality and with no standardized competency outcomes. This means the people responsible for designing and installing automatic fire suppression systems may have significant knowledge gaps that they are not aware of, and that no current system catches.

A university specialization program changes that dynamic fundamentally. Graduates will enter the workforce with a consistent, verified foundation in fire protection science and practice. Employers will be able to hire with greater confidence. Regulators and building officials will have a credentialed professional class to engage with. Over time, this raises the quality floor for the entire industry — and strengthens the conditions under which fire protection standards are adopted and properly enforced.

ANRACI represents 56 member companies across Colombia’s fire protection sector. This program is not an external initiative imposed on the industry — it is a product of the industry itself, developed by practitioners who understand what their colleagues need and are committed to elevating the profession.

A Strategic Investment in the Region

The measurable outcomes of this grant are clear:

• 12 fully developed academic modules covering fire protection science and practice
• An operational e-learning platform capable of serving professionals nationwide
• A government-accredited university specialization program in fire protection
• Formal labor competency standards developed in coordination with Colombian regulatory bodies
• A sustainable educational infrastructure ANRACI will own and operate beyond the grant period

This case illustrates a core principle of IFSA’s Global Partnerships strategy: investment in education and institutional capacity is investment in market development. When professionals are better trained, standards are better applied, systems are better installed, and the case for automatic fire suppression becomes easier to make to every audience — building owners, regulators, insurers, and the public.

Colombia has the potential to become a model for fire protection education in Latin America. IFSA’s 2024–2025 grant to ANRACI is a foundational investment in making that possible.

Learn More

Interested in how IFSA grant funding supports fire suppression advocacy and education around the world? Visit the IFSA Grant Program to learn about funding opportunities, eligibility, and how to apply.