19 fire departments across Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties, is proud to announce the 17th annual Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge. The challenge is a friendly competition among participating fire departments to see which department can host the largest blood drive between December and January by enlisting firefighters, friends, family and members of the area to donate lifesaving blood. Donating blood is critical to helping patients this holiday season. On average, blood donations drop by more than 4,000 in December compared to the rest of the year.