Frank Root III was born and raised in Avon, Ohio. Upon graduating from Avon High
School in 1984, he joined the local fire department as a volunteer, realizing his childhood dream
of becoming a firefighter, like his father. After accepting a full-time position with the fire
department in a nearby town, he advanced to the rank of lieutenant and later transferred back to
the Avon Fire Department, where, in 2006, he was promoted to chief. Fifteen years later, on his
fifty-fifth birthday, he retired—to attend to incapacitating flashbacks he was having of being
molested by his parents. He has spent the subsequent years dedicated to recovery.
Frank and his wife Karyn, a former school nurse in Avon, have a blended family with
five adult children. Frank and Karyn are currently exploring the American Southwest by RV, in
search of a new place to call home. While doing so, they are building an advocacy base for male
incest survivors and working with Ohio state policymakers to repeal the statute of limitations for
rape, molestation, and sexual assault.