Officials from La Crosse and neighboring municipalities will explore whether to implement a new response system for fires and other large-scale emergencies. Adopting automatic aid would allow the firefighters closest to the disaster to cross jurisdictions immediately; existing mutual agreements require agencies to request the response when an emergency exceeds local resources. “There are very few things we do in government that are this important,” Onalaska Mayor Joe Chilsen said Tuesday. “Police and fire are the two things that are paramount.” Leaders from La Crosse, Onalaska, Holmen, Shelby, Campbell, La Crescent and others met to discuss opportunities for regionalizing services.