Mentor authorities has chosen the one that will probably be counted on to maintain the town’s hearth and rescue companies working at a excessive degree.
Ronald A. Zak has been appointed as chief of the Mentor Hearth Division.
Zak, who was serving as appearing chief following the retirement of Robert Searles in October, was formally sworn in by Mentor Municipal Choose John Trebets on Feb. 11, with three earlier chiefs in attendance.
Based on a metropolis information launch, Zak has held each place within the Mentor Hearth Division since being employed as a firefighter/paramedic in 1991. Zak was promoted to lieutenant in 1995, battalion chief in 2013, and deputy chief in 2017.
Zak additionally served as a technical rescue workforce commander since 2000 and as an city search and rescue deputy workforce chief since 2013.
Included amongst his certifications are that of full-time firefighter, paramedic, hearth teacher, hearth security inspector, TEEX City Search and Rescue Specialist, and technician degree certifications in hazardous supplies, confined house rescue, trench rescue, rope rescue and structural collapse rescue.
Upon reflecting over his 30-plus yr profession, Zak shared that he selected hearth service as a result of he wished a profession that was difficult and rewarding but additionally one the place he may make a distinction in folks’s lives.
“A shift not often goes by with out witnessing struggling. After we get the prospect to assist ease somebody’s ache and make them really feel a bit higher on what might be their worst day, there’s satisfaction in that,” Zak mentioned.
Zak’s objective in his new function is to be progressive in embracing new applied sciences and methods as they come up.
“We need to proceed to supply essentially the most superior gear and technical coaching to our division and put the most effective educated personnel on the street in service of our neighborhood,” Zak mentioned. “Mentor residents place plenty of belief in us, and we have to guarantee them we’re ready to deal with any emergency.”
Based on the discharge, Zak was born and raised in Willowick and is a graduate of St. Joseph Excessive College in Cleveland. He graduated from the College of Akron in 1990 with an affiliate diploma in hearth science. He earned a bachelor’s diploma in emergency administration/homeland safety from Akron in 2015.
In 2020, he acquired his grasp’s diploma in public administration emergency companies from Columbia Southern College.
His pursuits embrace World Battle II historical past, finance, golf, bowling and touring. He lives in Mentor together with his spouse of 32 years, Margeret. Their son Ronald Jr., 26, is pursuing a profession in New York as an actor.
Searles retired late final yr after 10 years within the place. Over his 37-year profession with the town, Searles additionally held each rank inside the Mentor Hearth Division.
Based on Mentor Metropolis Supervisor Ken Filipiak, Zak is simply the fifth hearth chief within the division’s historical past, and his legacy and dedication to the town and the security of its residents made him an ideal selection as the brand new chief.
“I believe internally, we’re in an excellent place and there are plenty of certified members of the command within the division, however there might be just one selection and I consider Ron Zak is your best option to steer us into the following chapter within the division’s historical past,” Filipiak mentioned. “Ron Zak is the entire firefighter, and that is a bonus to have the ability to know the every day work of those who he leads.
“We have been searching for a number of issues from our subsequent chief, together with embracing new concepts and the sense that whereas I consider now we have the most effective hearth division within the state, it’s by no means adequate and we will all the time get higher and there’s room to enhance,” Fillipiak added. “However most significantly, somebody who cares deeply in regards to the well-being of our firefighters and paramedics in their very own private improvement and I believe we discovered the appropriate individual in Chief Zak.”
The Information-Herald believes that the Mentor Hearth Division will probably be in good arms below Zak’s management.
