Fire & Rescue
Onalaska fire chief hoping to keep wreath to just one red light, as part of annual campaign
One red light glows on wreaths at area fire departments.
The “Keep the Wreath Green” campaign hopes to keep it that way, raising awareness of fire dangers during the holidays.
Onalaska Fire Chief Billy Hayes warned of all the fire dangers that occur only during the holidays — like lights on your roof, a tree in your living room, multiple plugs into one outlet. He also mentioned how it’s not easy fighting fires this time of year.
“We have to take extra precautions to wear additional thermal layering, to make sure that we stay warm while we’re outside,” Hayes said. “Obviously, slip hazards become a present for us because of the water being flowed, being leaked out of the hoses, out of the pumps.”
The one red light so far represents a fire that took place in La Crosse last weekend.
La Crosse, La Crescent, Onalaska and Campbell fire departments have wreaths for the eighth annual campaign. Every time a fire is reported within those four departments, another red light will glow.
