Richard Stilp

Richard Stilp RN, MA, FPEM, recently (April 2018) completed his fire service career as the Fire Chief of St Cloud Fire Rescue in Central Florida. He began his career in the fire service in 1976 on Orlando Fire Department where he rose in rank to District Chief. Chief Stilp’s responsibilities included managing the Hazardous Materials and Dive Teams.

Over a period of 10 years during his tenure on Orlando FD he worked part time as an Emergency Department Registered Nurse at several hospitals in Orlando and Winter Haven, Florida. After retirement from Orlando Fire Department, Richard became the Corporate Director for Safety and Security for Orlando Regional Healthcare, a group of seven hospitals, located in four counties, and employing more than 13,000 employees. In 2005 Richard returned to the fire service when he took over as the Executive Director of the Central Florida Fire Academy (CFFA).

The CFFA was one of the largest Fire Academies in the state offering a full complement of Florida US&R courses, Fire Officer, Fire Inspector, EMT, and Fire Standards training. After retiring from the CFFA, Richard became the Regional Hazardous Materials Coordinator for UASI Region V. As the Regional Coordinator, he assists 6 regional hazardous materials teams with equipment purchases and training.

As an author, Richard has co-authored a number of books with Armando Bevelacqua including “Emergency Medical Response to Hazardous Materials Incidents”, “Terrorism Handbook for Operational Responders”, “The Hazardous Materials Field Guide”, and the “Citizens Guide to Terrorism Preparedness”. He has also contributed a number of articles to professional fire and nursing publications. Richard holds an Associate in Arts, and Associates in Science in Nursing, a Bachelor of Arts in Business, and a Master of Arts in Management. He is certified as a Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM) through the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA) and he holds a Fire Instructor III certification, and is a Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) through FEMA.

He enjoys teaching through his consulting company; Emergency Management Systems, Inc. and instructing at National Conferences like the International HazMat Teams Conference in Baltimore, Hotzone in Houston, and the Florida HazMat Symposium where he serves as a member of the Board of Directors and on the Executive Committee.