The American Fire Sprinkler Association has announced it will begin accepting entries for its 2006–2007 National Scholarship Contest on Aug. 29. Ten contest winners will each receive $2,000 scholarships.

In 1996, the AFSA inaugurated a scholarship essay contest to raise public awareness about the property- and life-saving benefits of automatic fire sprinklers. Last year, however, the contest shifted in format from a written essay contest to an online contest.

Under the new format, applicants first are required to read a passage about fire sprinklers that describes their history, how they operate to save lives and property, and the types of careers that are available in the industry. They then take a 10-question reading comprehension test. For each question answered correctly, the applicant receives one entry into a drawing for one of the scholarships. Winners are selected randomly from among all entries.

The 2006–2007 contest will run from noon CDT Aug. 29, 2006, to noon CST April 13, 2007. The contest is open to U.S. citizens and legal residents who are high school seniors planning on furthering their education at a college, university or trade school. Interested parties can find more details at the AFSA Web site.