The History

The Toutle Fire Deparment has been an all volunteer fire department since 1954. The department was started by Dave Kretz, Cap. Anderson and Floyd Gardner. The original department was initially ran from the Kretz home & mobile service station. According to his daughter Nikki, all the children in the family were assigned a job & hers was to ring the emergency bell whenever a call came in. Once the bell rang all the volunteers would respond, even the teachers would leave school to respond to a call. The Kretz brothers Wayne & Richard went on calls while Nikki’s sister drove the fire truck at times. On September 12, 1973 Richard Kretz, son of Dave Kretz, died in the line of duty. The fire department recently named a fire engine in honor of Mr. Kretz & his ultimate sacrifice. The department has grown and changed over the many years since initially starting but continues to service the wonderful people of the Cowlitz 3 Fire district.