Spring Valley, Wisconsin mourns passing of longtime Fire Chief Terry Shafer

SPRING VALLEY, Wis. (KMSP) - Hundreds of firefighters, EMS and community members are mourning the sudden passing of longtime firefighter and former Spring Valley, Wisconsin Fire Chief Terry Shafer.

Shafer, 62, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Feb. 25 in Melrose, Minnesota after collapsing while on a weekend trip with his brothers to the family cabin. Shafer’s final service call was on the afternoon of Feb. 24, when he responded to a crash on Interstate 94. While en route, the call was canceled and Shafer returned to the station before heading north for the weekend.

Shafer was a 38-year member of the Spring Valley Are Fire Department, serving 30 of those years as the fire chief. Terry was also a 20-year member of Spring Valley Area Ambulance, where he served as a first responder.

“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 Spring Valley Fire Department said in a statement

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has ordered flags to fly at half-staff on Friday, March 3 as Shafer is laid to rest. A funeral mass was held Friday morning at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Spring Valley, followed by the burial at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in El Paso Township.