The city of Mentor has announced the retirement of Fire Chief Robert Searles effective October 3, 2024.
Searles’ public safety career began in 1982 as a police officer with the city of Lyndhurst. He joined the Mentor Fire Department as a part-time firefighter/paramedic in 1987 and went full-time with the department a year later. Over his 37-year career with the city he has held every rank within the Mentor Fire Department, being appointed Chief in 2014.
In addition to serving as Fire Chief for the last ten years, Searles served as the Lake County Fire Coordinator and President of the Lake County Fire Chiefs’ Association, with which he is a long-time member and has served on several committees.
Throughout his career Searles has been actively involved in advancing school safety. He has testified in front of the Board of Building Standards as a strong advocate for changes in the state building and fire code for improvements in school safety. He also served as a member of the Ohio Attorney General’s School Safety Task Force where he was successful in guiding the committee to include Fire and Emergency Medical Services as a key component in school safety planning and training. Under his leadership, Mentor’s Rescue Task Force concepts have led the region in critical incident response training and tactics and have been emulated upon by several northeast Ohio Fire Departments. Searles has also significantly enhanced instruction in Incident Command and Hazard Zone Management throughout Lake County.
Among his many accolades, Searles was named Firefighter of the Year in 2014 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and in 2021 was awarded the Pennant of Gratitude from the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Division of EMS. He was an integral part of planning and organizing vaccination clinics for Lake County during the H1N1 crisis and the COVID 19 pandemic. The success of the vaccination programs in Lake County was showcased with Health and Human Services officials in Washington, DC, by Dr. Carol Cunningham, State of Ohio EMS Medical Director.
Mentor City Manager and Safety Director Kenneth Filipiak stated “Bob Searles has made an indelible mark on this Fire Department and this community. He is the consummate public servant, and he will be greatly missed.” Deputy Chief Ronald Zak has been named as Mentor’s Acting Fire Chief while a permanent selection process proceeds.