Serving The Community Since 1890

Learn More About Central Pierce Fire & Rescue

History of Central Pierce

For many years, rural areas of Pierce County did without fire protection. Some communities had a little shed filled with buckets; some had a hose cart and a hand pumper. When an occasional fire occurred, the whole community would pitch in and form a bucket brigade to extinguish the fire.

In 1922, a fire erupted at Bock’s grocery store in Spanaway. With a strong wind blowing, the fire soon became unmanageable, so the Tacoma Fire Department was called. By the time Engine Co. 2 and Engine Co. 11 arrived, a large portion of the town was gone. Using water drafted from Spanaway Lake, the rest of the town was saved by the two engine companies.

In 1939, Washington State House Bill number 81 was introduced and passed. Chapter 34 of this bill became Title 52, which established for the first time fire protection districts in the state of Washington for unincorporated communities and rural areas. In a short time, petitions were drawn up and signed to incorporate areas into fire districts. The petition was then reviewed by the County Commissioners for approval. One of the first petitions in Pierce County was the area of Parkland.

This area included all of Parkland and Brookdale, parts of Spanaway and Midland. However, when the measure went for a vote on February 21st, 1941, the citizens voted it down. This first vote in Parkland may have failed because in the summer of 1940, Spanaway had already formed a fire department, funded by donations, dances, and card parties.

In Early 1942, Midland had the idea of putting together a Fire Department, rather than go as a taxing district. The leaders of the organization decided to incorporate as a non-profit organization funded by donations and dances, similar to what Spanaway was doing. This organization became official In September of 1942. The original name was for the three communities it would serve Harvard, Midland, and Larchmont (H M & L).

In 1942, the nation was deep in war on two fronts, the European and Pacific theater. Most people were not thinking of the fire department Incorporation at that time. However, by May of 1944, the leading men of the Parkland community, following the Midland example, formed the Parkland Volunteer Fire Department as an incorporated non-profit organization. In a couple of years, these departments had proved to their respective communities that they were there to stay and to serve the public in a professional manner. Both H M & L Fire Department (Midland) and Parkland Volunteer Fire Department returned to their citizens with a petition to incorporate into a tax-supported Fire Protection District.

In Midland, the citizens voted on April 20^th, 1945, with an astounding 112 to 0 vote to tax themselves for fire protection. As a result, Pierce County Fire Protection District Number 4 was created on May 7^th, 1945, when the Pierce County Commissioners signed resolution #1856. Within a year, on February 16^th, 1946, the Parkland area residents voted 362 to 5 to become a fire district. District #6 became official on March 5^th, 1946, under Pierce County resolution #2069.

In Spanaway, a group formed to petition the citizens to incorporate into a fire district. When the citizens of Elk Plain heard this, they also wanted to be a part of it. Within months of Parkland becoming a fire district, citizens of Spanaway, along with Elk Plain, voted on April 27^th, 1946. Passing with 237 votes to 5, the Spanaway/Elk Plain fire department became official on April 30^th, 1946, with County resolution #2132 as Pierce County Fire Protection District Number 7.

The formation of these three fire departments set the stage for the communities to the east to see the benefits of a publicly supported fire department. By April 17^th, 1948, these communities were also voting on their own fire department measure, adopting the name Summit, Woodland, and Collins Fire Department. District Number 9 citizens voted on April 17th and became official under resolution #2809 on April 20^th, 1948. The citizen vote was not as overwhelming as the other three districts, with a final vote tally of 2814 and 119 votes against the measure.

From the very start of the formation of these fire districts, mergers seemed to always be talked about, but never seriously considered. Each district, with its respective community or communities, had its own pride and values. It was frightening for the districts and their communities to think of losing the memory of times past and, quite possibly, their community identity if they were to merge with another fire department.

In June of 1958, the Pierce County Commissioners discussed placing a bill before the vote of the people to consolidate all Pierce County Fire Districts into one large district. This large Pierce County Fire District would naturally fall under the direct supervision and control of the County Commissioners. Most of the fire districts were well-established departments and would have nothing to do with the proposal and fought against it. Instead, the individual departments all came together to sign Mutual Aid agreements, both to satisfy the County Commissioners and to comply with the Volunteer Relief and Pension Act. With a mutual aid agreement between both districts, firefighters would be covered by the Volunteer Relief and Pension Act if they happened to cross lines.

The start of the mergers:

Talks of a merger began when administrators from Districts 4, 6, 7, 9, and 21 all came together. The first meeting took place soon after the January 1^st, 1990, functional consolidation of District #4, Midland, and District Number 6, Parkland. The following year, Midland merged with Parkland after the September 17^th, 1991, vote, when Midland citizens passed the measure by 76%. By November 1991, District Number 21, Graham, dropped out of the merger talks.

In 1992, the three standing districts, District Number 6, Midland/Parkland, District Number 7, Spanaway/Elk Plain, and District Number 9, Summit/South Hill, consolidated their training with a very favorable outcome. The collective training proved to be good, with an overall cost reduction to the three districts. The following year, the three districts consolidated their administration and appointed Chief Williams from Summit/South Hill as the overall new Executive Director.

In August of 1993, a contest was held to name the new fire department. All fire department personnel were asked to submit a name for the new department. After help from the local service clubs in the different areas, the list was reduced to 10 final names. These names were voted on by the fire department members. The individual who submitted the winning name was Captain Doug Willis. However, it seems it was a group effort by Doug Willis, Jim Parmalee, Dan Beckman, and Kevin Rhone. These individuals had the honor of naming Central Pierce Fire & Rescue. By January of 1994, CPFR fighters were working together as one Department versus three departments. For a merger vote to take place, the timing had to coincide with taxes being paid by the citizens of the separate taxing districts. The three districts had to come in line so that the citizens were paying nearly the same taxes. In the later part of 1995, the time had arrived for District Number 7 and District Number 9 to submit petitions to merge with District Number 6. On February 15^th, 1996, the citizens of District Number 7 and District Number 9 voted to merge with District Number 6 to unify the department as one and establish themselves as CPFR.

On November 4^th, 2008, voters in both CPFR and the City of Puyallup voted to approve the annexation of the Puyallup Fire Department into CPFR. This was on January 1^st, 2009.

The Puyallup Fire Department has a long-standing history of its own. In 1890, shortly after the City of Puyallup was incorporated, one of the first actions of the newly elected mayor, Ezra Meeker, appointed a committee to handle the city’s necessities. One of these necessities was the city’s protection from fire. Unfortunately for the city, the fire department was not established until after the big fire of September 17^th, 1890, when much of the town was destroyed. From this event, the roots of the fire department were formed, and it has been growing since, helping neighboring communities by providing fire protection or by assisting in establishing their own fire department.

Like most American fire departments in 1890, the Puyallup Fire Department was an all-volunteer department, beginning with 25 men. The first station, better known as the Fire Barn, was located at Main and Rainier. Rainier is now 2nd Street Southeast north of the tracks. At this station, the fireman would sponsor various events to raise money to procure needed items such as uniforms. By 1930, a poor report from the Insurance and Rating Bureau led the city to hire a full-time Chief. In 1931, the city hired A. J. Mac McCarthy, and with the new Chief came a new station built next to the Old City Hall, built on Pioneer Avenue. Besides the new station, Chief McCarthy brought the first fire prevention program to the city. In 1941, when many Pierce County rural fire departments were just getting started as volunteer departments, Chief Brakefield took command of Puyallup Fire and started hiring paid firemen to fill the ranks. By 1957 and under Chief Parkhurst, Puyallup Fire was up to 10 paid men, in addition to 26 volunteers. Throughout the 1960s, volunteer staffing was being phased out, and more men were being hired. By 1968, Puyallup was staffed with 17 paid firemen and only 12 volunteers. The same year, under Chief Rex Jordan, a new public safety building was constructed for both the fire department and the police department, each sharing half of the building. In 1969, Puyallup gained the unique distinction of having the first 911 telephone alarm system on the West Coast. Chief Hempel followed Chief Jordan. The 1970s saw the last other volunteers leave, and a department that was now fully paid. In 1975, Chief Barnhart took over. Two fire inspectors were now working full-time, and by 1978, a second station was built off Shaw Road. Chief Haworth became chief in 1980, and Chief Frank took the reins in 1986. The 1990s brought with it a Paramedic program, the addition of several more firefighter positions, and a third station. This station was built to be the Headquarters Station for the City of Puyallup Fire Department and to house the Administration and Prevention offices. In 2007, Chief Frank retired, and Deputy Chief Ruth Obadal was promoted to Fire Chief.

The final merger was that of North Puyallup Fire District #11.

North Puyallup is a small community that sits between the Puyallup River and North Hill, North and to the east of the city of Puyallup, with the city of Sumner to the east of it. North Hill is better known as the Edgewood area. For many years, North Puyallup would receive fire protection from either the city of Sumner or the City of Puyallup. In 1955, the Community of North Puyallup decided to change that by voting to create Fire District #11 with the help of Sumner’s Fire Chief Dwire Garrett. The North Puyallup Volunteer Fire Department, as it became known to its citizens, was always small but made up for it with its pride and resourcefulness. By 2003, times had changed, and it was getting exceedingly difficult to attract dedicated volunteers. The community was too small to hire paid personnel, so the next best thing was a contract for services. They did this through the City of Puyallup, and when Puyallup Fire became part of CPFR, the citizens of this proud community soon voted to become part of CPFR. This vote happened on August 18^th, 2009, with the merger becoming official on September 15th, 2009.

When the fire department got started there was a need to house the man and their equipment. So here is a brief history of the fire stations of CPFR.

To learn more about our fire stations click here.

Our 5 Year Strategic Plan

About the Plan

To read the the entire Central Pierce Fire & Rescue 5 Year Strategic Plan document, please see below​.

Central Pierce Fire & Rescue (CPFR) provides fire suppression, emergency medical services, technical rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, public information and education, prevention and code compliance to the municipalities and unincorporated areas of Central Pierce County within their specified district. CPFR is consistently working to achieve and/or maintain the highest level of professionalism and efficiency on behalf of those it serves.

In an effort to work toward self-improvement, CPFR contracted with the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) to facilitate a method to document the department’s path into the future, hence the development and implementation of a “Community-Driven Strategic Plan.” The strategic plan was written in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the CFAI Fire & Emergency Service Self-Assessment Manual 8th Ed., and is intended to guide the organization within established parameters set forth by the authority having jurisdiction.

The CPSE utilized the Community–Driven Strategic Planning process to go beyond just the development of a document. It challenged the membership of CPFR to critically examine paradigms, values, philosophies, beliefs and desires, and challenged individuals to work in the best interest of the “team.” Furthermore, it provided the membership with an opportunity to participate in the development of their organization’s long-term direction and focus. Members of the department’s external and internal stakeholders’ groups performed admirably in committing to this important project and remain committed to the document’s completion.

Central Pierce Fire & Rescue’s Strategic Plan sets forth a comprehensive vision and mission statement that provides the agency with a clear path into the future. Additionally, this strategic plan identifies the core values that embody how the agency’s members, individually and collectively, will carry out the agency’s mission. In the following pages, CPFR identifies its goals, objectives, and strategies that will allow the agency to realize its vision.

CPFR2018StrategicPlanFinal

CPF&R strategic plan 2023-2025 Final Draft