Lt. Todd Wesley Krodle was living his lifelong dream of serving as a firefighter with the Dallas Fire Department. Todd was an 18-year veteran of the Dallas Fire Department and served as the officer on Engine 26C in West Oak Cliff.
On August 14, 2011, he lost his life in a 2-alarm apartment fire in West Dallas.
Todd was born on April 6, 1970, in Greenville, Texas, the oldest child of Richard and Nell Krodle. He was as close to the perfect son as any boy could be and was a hero to his brother, Kurt. He graduated from Greenville High School in 1988 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture education from East Texas State University in 1992. Todd was the type of person that any parent would want their son to grow to be or for their daughter to marry.
Todd was the type of person that any parent would want their son to grow to be or for their daughter to marry.
At the age of 9, Todd put his faith in Jesus Christ and followed Him with his whole life. While in high school, his youth minister challenged him to live his life by a simple statement: “I’m Third”. That statement characterized the rest of his life – he put his relationship with Jesus first, his relationship to others second, and himself third.
In 1986, Todd went on his first date with Kelli, who quickly became his best friend. Todd and Kelli dated for almost nine years before they were married in 1995. Todd knew early that he would spend his life loving and cherishing Kelli, which he did until his final breath. In 1998, they welcomed their son, Cade, and Caroline joined the family in 2001.
Krodle Foundation volunteers escorting Caroline Krodle at Homecoming event.
His children were his greatest source of pride, and he cared for and loved them with every ounce of his being. Todd worked hard so that he could attend to practically every need of his family – not because they needed him to, but because that brought him deep joy.
In 1993, became a member of the Dallas Fire Department and Rookie Class 239. After rookie school, Todd was assigned to Station 26 as a fire rescue officer and paramedic. When promoted to driver-engineer, he was transferred to Station 35 for almost a year before moving back to 26’s where he was able to stay when promoted to lieutenant. He would spend the rest of his career at Station 26.
Todd loved the fire fighters he worked with and the community he served, and he was equally loved in return. A firefighter at 26’s described Todd’s first shift as their lieutenant as the “day the greatest officer we had ever known walked through the door.” When his crew was asked to describe their lieutenant, they said:
"He was the epitome of character and integrity. He taught us that doing the right thing may take longer, make you sweat more, and may not win you many friends. You could never out work Todd, all you could hope for is to work beside him. There were several instances where we stayed on scene at a structure fire much longer than needed so he could take time to teach guys about what happened, why it happened, and why we attacked a certain way."
He taught us that doing the right thing may take longer, make you sweat more, and may not win you friends.
Todd Krodle was what every man should strive to be: the consummate husband and father, a faithful son and brother, and a man of integrity and character with a relentless work ethic. We will miss Todd every day for the rest of our lives, but we are better because he was part of us.
