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Fire Department

The Belton Fire Department provides emergency services to approximately 30,000 people including the residents of the City of Belton and Mount Pleasant Township. Additionally, our department provides primary EMS services to Cleveland MO, and its surrounding residents.

The men and women of the Belton Fire Department respond to approximately 6,000 calls for service annually from two fire stations. The emergency services provided include fire suppression, advanced life support emergency medical transport, technical rescue, and hazardous materials first response.

The department endeavors to support the health and safety our growing community as a progressive all-hazards prevention, mitigation, and response organization.

Mission

We serve our community with “PRIDE” through exceptional fire, rescue, and emergency medical response, fire prevention, public education, and charitable community service.

Values

Professionalism, Responsiveness, Integrity, Duty, and Engagement

Letter from Chief John Sapp

(PDF, 297KB)

History

The Belton Fire Department was organized in 1913. At the time of its organization, it consisted of all volunteer personnel. The first fire apparatus was a hand-drawn chemical engine, which was purchased for approximately $300.

The first fire chief was appointed in 1920. Chief H.K. Denkler was appointed as the first paid fire chief in 1971 and retired in 1998. John T. Sapp has been fire chief since 2019.

The staff has grown from as few as four volunteers to our current staffing of 46 uniformed personnel and one civilian secretary. Our command staff consists of personnel with more than 150 years of emergency services experience.

The Belton Fire Department staff members are assigned to three shifts. The crews work 24-hour periods beginning at 8:00 am and ending at 8:00 am the following day. The shift rotates between 24 hours on and 24 hours off, until the crew has worked three tours. Then personnel receive four days off. This arrangement allows for maximum staffing and is utilized by most area fire departments.

Each shift is supervised by an Assistant Chief/Shift Commander, who oversees all shift activities and determines performance goals. Each station assigned a Station Captain who directly supervises personnel and assists them in the completion of their assigned duties and reports directly to the Battalion Chief/Shift Commander.

Duties
In addition to general shift duties and emergency calls, personnel also participate in:

Fire Safety Inspections
Building and grounds maintenance
Documentation
Fire hose and hydrant testing
Pre-fire planning
Pump testing
Public Fire Education
Vehicle / equipment maintenance

History-Photos2

Administration

The Fire Department’s Administrative Division is responsible for developing the mission of the department, providing leadership, and evaluating how we meet our mission objectives. Along with this, the division is also responsible for managing the day to day business interactions for the department. Members of this division include the fire chief and the department’s administrative assistant.

What is an IOS rating and how does it affect me?

For ISO insurance classification requests, please contact Fire Chief Sapp.

Fire Prevention

Responsibilities
The Fire Prevention Bureau is responsible for the planning, directing and coordinating of the Belton Emergency Services fire prevention activities. Those include:

Public fire education
Ongoing fire safety inspections of all business
Working with the Development Review Committee to insure fire safety of new development
Fire investigations

Click here for more Fire Prevention information.

Request Fire Prevention & Education Services

Operations

The Operations Division provides an expansive list of emergency services to our community. Operations members work a rotating 24-hour shift schedule.

Services provided include:

Fire suppression
Emergency Medical Transport
Vehicle Extrication
Operations level technical rescue response
Operations level hazardous material response

Every Belton firefighter is an Emergency Medical Technician or Paramedic. Our members provide basic and advanced life support medical transport for the sick and injured.

Ride Along Form & Policy Guide

Training

The Training Division plans, directs, and organizes the training and credentialing of all members of the Belton Fire Department. Activities include:

Developing company level training curriculum for all operations division members.
Evaluating training activities
Maintenance of all training records
Oversite of certification and licensing credentials for all members

The division also coordinates training on specialized topics, such as: