Members of the Spring Valley Fire Department are mourning the loss of a longtime member who recently stepped down as fire chief.
Terrance “Terry” Edward Shafer, 62, responded to a motor vehicle crash around 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 24. The accident was on Interstate 94 near Wilson.
While en route, the call was cancelled and Shafer returned to the station with his crew, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
Later that night, Shafer collapsed while he was with his family a cabin in Minnesota.
An EMS crew transported Shafer to a Melrose, MN, hospital where he passed away the next morning.
The cause of Shafer's death has not been determined.
Shafer was a 38-year member of the Spring Valley Fire Department and a 20-year member of Spring Valley Area Ambulance.
On Jan. 1, Shafer ended a 30-year run as the fire chief when Mike Fitzjarrwell took over, according to the Pierce County Herald.
"It takes so much to make it all work. It takes so much time to make a good department," Shafer said in an interview earlier this year. "It’s not just the chief. Like the quarterback of the team, he’s only one person.”
Shafer is survived by two sons and one daughter.
His two sons followed him into public safety. Chad is a fire officer with United Fire in Baldwin, WI, and Todd is a police officer in New Richmond, WI.
"As a service, we mourn Terry’s loss deeply, and extend our greatest thoughts and prayers to the family in their time of need," the department posted on their Facebook page.
Visitation is Thursday, March 2, from 3-8 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Spring Valley and one hour prior to Friday's funeral mass. The mass is Friday, March 3 at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church with burial at St Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, El Paso Township, Pierce County, Wisconsin.
