First and foremost, I want to thank our residents for their support, without you we simply wouldn’t exist. I also want to personally thank the members of the Mentor Fire Department for their dedication, compassion and commitment to service. I am very proud of the men and women of our fire department as they seek out and implement innovative and progressive ways to provide the best service possible. 
I pledge to continue to deliver professional, cost effective services in a personal, responsive and innovative manner that will always serve the public’s best interest. As we do our best to prevent harm and be nice, please remember that we are here for you because of you. Hopefully, you will never require our assistance, but if you do, please be confident that we’ll be there.
Yours in safety,
Chief Richard Harvey
2008 Annual Report
Through a system of education, preparedness, response and recovery, the Mentor Fire Department utilizes the following five operating divisions to deliver service to the community: Fire Prevention, Education, Fire and Rescue, Fire Administration and Maintenance.
Major Accomplishments
- Responded to, and safely managed, 6,467 emergency incidents.
- Reduced harm to the community through Education and Safety Awareness Programs with over 6,000 attending CPR and First Aid Classes, Fire Extinguisher Training and other safety and accident prevention programs provided by the Public Education Division.
- Secured Federal Grant Funding to improve information management (mobile computers) for our units on the fire ground and at other emergency scenes.
- Completed over 2,100 Fire Safety Inspections and 467 plan reviews.
- Designed and fabricated a Medical Incident Response Trailer to carry large quantities of medical supplies and oxygen for Mass Casualty Incidents.
- Updated public access Automated External Defibrillators to the New American Heart Association Standards.
- Designed and purchased with Homeland Security Funding a specialized tow-vehicle for our special service equipment trailers used for Water Rescue, Hazardous Materials, Technical Rescue, Urban Search and Rescue and Mass Casualty Incident responses.
Major Plans for 2009
- Upgrade the heart monitors / Electrocardiograms (EKG) / defibrillators / pacing units carried on our Rescue Squads to transmit three dimensional EKG’s to the hospital for earlier diagnosis and treatment of heart attacks.
- Design and purchase a new Command vehicle for emergency scene management.
- Upgrade our computer software and field reporting capabilities to improve information management for our units on the fire ground and at other emergency scenes using Mobile Data Terminals.
- Continue to develop our Public Education capabilities, including the Children Safety House and Safety Village.
- Continue to participate in major disaster and specialized rescue training to better ensure our readiness.
