Badge 286, Overland Park Fire Department, Training Officer, Stapp
The Expert Departments Call — Badge 286, Overland Park Fire Department

39 years in the fire service. One mission: bring every firefighter home.

Joseph "Joe" Stapp, Sr. began as a volunteer at 16 and spent 39 years in the fire service — including 20 years of training experience across departments at local, state, and national levels. Today he trains departments nationwide in fire behavior and air management — and in the fight most departments still don't train for: the mental toll that outlasts the fire.

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39 years in the fire service
B.S. Public Safety Administration
M.S. Executive Fire Service Leadership
20 years in training across departments at local, state & national levels
State instructor in Kansas, Arkansas & Delaware
Instructor at Johnson County Community College
Curriculum author for the Arkansas Fire Academy
20 years licensed Paramedic
Thousands of firefighters trained
Why This Work Matters

Firefighters don't just risk their lives on scene. They risk them long after the call ends.

The physical training gets funded. The mental toll rarely does — even though it's often the more dangerous one. These are the numbers most departments don't put on a slide.

18/100k
Firefighter suicide rate — vs. 13 per 100,000 in the general public. (Ruderman White Paper on First Responder Mental Health)
100+
Estimated firefighter suicides every year nationwide — more, some years, than line-of-duty deaths.
~20%
Of firefighters and paramedics meet criteria for PTSD at some point in their career — nearly 3x the general population's 6.8% lifetime rate.
~30%
Of firefighters meet criteria for alcohol dependence — roughly double the rate in the general population.

These aren't just numbers. They're the boxes firefighters shelve call after call, year after year — because the job trains you to keep going, not to unpack what you just saw. "The Boxes We Shelved" confronts this directly: what happens when those boxes come open, why it happens most often after retirement, and what departments can do — starting now — to make sure fewer firefighters carry it alone.

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Sources: Ruderman Family Foundation White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders; National Fallen Firefighters Foundation; IAFF behavioral health surveys; Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) and the IAFF Center of Excellence (1-855-880-4233) are available 24/7.

THE SIGNATURE KEYNOTE

"The Boxes We Shelved"

Retirement doesn't end the job — it opens every box a firefighter spent a career keeping shut. Built from lived experience, delivered by a chief who's carried it himself, and aimed at making sure fewer firefighters carry it alone.

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VIDEO PLACEHOLDER
Suggested: 60–90 second highlight reel or trailer from a live delivery — capture the room's reaction, not just the speaker.
Credentials & Track Record

Not a motivational speaker. A career fire service leader.

Education
B.S., Public Safety Administration
M.S., Executive Fire Service Leadership
Training Experience
20 years in training across departments at local, state & national levels
State Instructor
Certified state instructor in Kansas, Arkansas & Delaware
College Instructor
Instructor at Johnson County Community College, Kansas City metro
Curriculum
Authored curriculum for the Arkansas Fire Academy
Paramedic
20 years as a licensed Paramedic
Training Reach
Local departments, state academies, and national engagements — with an active NFA application in progress
WHAT I BRING TO YOUR DEPARTMENT

Six ways to work with 286 Training.

01

Fire Behavior & ROAM

Command-level fire behavior and Rules of Air Management training your crews will use on scene.

02

Academy & Curriculum Design

Full recruit academy curricula and continuing education programs, built to state and national standards.

03

Command & Facility Design

Ground-up training facility design and prop consulting, concept through construction.

04

Online Education & Prepackaged Curriculum

Ready-to-deploy CE modules and licensed recruit curriculum for departments who want proven content without a full custom build.

05

Keynote: "The Boxes We Shelved"

The talk on retirement, grief, and mental health that only a chief who's lived it can give.

06

Retainer / Ongoing Consulting

Monthly advisory for departments building a new facility or overhauling training long-term.

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IN THE FIELD

Training departments across the country.

Command presence during a live training evolution
📷
PHOTO PLACEHOLDER
Full recruit class group shot from a recent academy
📷
PHOTO PLACEHOLDER
Live-fire ROAM evolution in progress
🎥
VIDEO PLACEHOLDER
30–60 second clip from a recent training day
WHAT DEPARTMENTS SAY

Testimonials — coming from the field.

"

Testimonial placeholder — add a quote from a training chief or department leader after your first engagement.

— Name, Title, Department
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Testimonial placeholder — a recruit or CE participant's reaction works well here too, not just leadership.

— Name, Title, Department
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Testimonial placeholder — consider one specifically about "The Boxes We Shelved" for emotional weight.

— Name, Title, Department
What I know isn't mine to keep. It's mine to pass forward — so the next generation comes home, every time.
— Joseph Stapp, Sr.

Four generations of Stapps in the fire and public safety services — from Chesapeake City, Maryland to Overland Park, Kansas, to KCFD and the U.S. Navy today. Read the full legacy →

Retirement Tribute — Overland Park Fire Department

39 years, one badge, and a career worth watching.

Produced by the Overland Park Fire Department to mark Joseph's retirement, this tribute walks through the full arc of his fire service career — from the first station door to Badge 286.

Bring the expert to your department — and to the next generation.

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