The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
ROOTS RUN DEEP
Avon chief a hometown firefighter at heart
Avon Fire Chief Frank Root III has seen a lot in his 33-year career.
Root’s office at the Avon Fire Department on Detroit Road is in part a monument to his own personal history and development as a firefighter.
He proudly displays five helmets on a mantel next to his desk to signify the stages of his career.
From left to right, starting with the helmet he used in his first year as a firefighter with the Elyria Fire Department in 1984 to the helmet he wore when he was first named chief of his hometown department in Avon, they serve as a reminder of where he came from and the risks that firefighters face each day.
“I’m pretty proud of those,” Root said. “It reminds me that I was always a firefighter first and chief second, and I think my guys realize that, too. I’m still that firefighter at heart, and they can talk to me as a firefighter and not as a chief all the time.”
Root smiled in pointing out the blackened helmet on the far right had seen better days after taking a bit of a beating after being used as part of his work in training new firefighters at the academy.
As a 1984 graduate of Avon High School, Root was immediately hired as a volunteer firefighter by the Avon Fire Department after taking the city’s civil service exam at the age of 18. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Frank Root Jr. who served as a volunteer for the Avon Fire Chief Frank Root III stands in his office at the Avon Fire Department with one of five helmets that tell part of the story of his 33-year career. An Avon native, Root has served as fire chief for the department since 2006.
Avon department for years.
After becoming certified as a firefighter and paramedic at Cuyahoga Community College, Root was one of 13 rookies hired by the Elyria department in 1986 and he would serve the for
17 years, working his way up to the rank of lieutenant while continuing with Avon’s volunteer force.
“I grew up with it,” Root said about his father. “He was a volunteer firefighter so even at a young age I
would ask him every once in a while if I could go with him to the station.”
While in high school Root served as class president during his junior and senior years in addition to playing football and running track but becoming a firefighter was his first love.
“I had a love for it then and kept going through high school and things like that. And I actually went to a couple of fires before I was even part of the fire department,” Root added.
When Avon transitioned from a volunteer force to a full-time department, Root called the opportunity “a fruition of a lifelong dream.”
Beginning with a department of 15 firefighters, an assistant chief and fire chief, Avon’s department has doubled in size, and leads a department that is aiming to do everything they can to be a part of the community.
“If you’d have told me as a gung-ho firefighter that one day I’d be chief I’d have said no way. I’ve always liked to
be where the action is and I always told myself I never wanted to do anything administrative,” Root added. “As I promoted up and had the chance when my dad retired to test for the chief’s position it has turned out to be an amazing career and I feel incredibly fortunate to have it go the way it did.”
Outside of responding to structure fires, the department focuses a great deal of their efforts on fire prevention initiatives and getting out in the community as much as possible.
The Avon Fire Department has an open door policy and regularly hosts tours for youth and seniors groups in addition to CPR classes and programs for infant car seat safety and a senior lock-box program.
“What is really great is that the vast majority of our members live in Avon and our entire officer group captains, lieutenants, the assistant chief and myself live in Avon. We really have a vested interest in the community and making sure
this department works out as best as possible,” Root said.
With strong support from the city and a thriving mutual aid response network in Lorain with the cities of Avon Lake, Sheffield Village, Sheffield Lake and North Ridgeville, the Avon Fire Department has made a dramatic transition under Root’s leadership and continues draw the support of the community.
“I think we have a really successful department and a great administration to work with both with (former Mayor) Jim Smith and now (Mayor) Bryan Jensen as well as great citizen support. The people are just fantastic and that is why we love dealing with them since they support us so much,” Root said.
Root is married to wife Karyn and has five children. He said they recently purchased a motor home and looks forward to doing more traveling and the opportunity to explore more of the country.