The Medway River Fire Departments are four loosely affiliated organizations situated along the Medway River and the Medway River Road.  The Charleston Fire Department, the Mill Village and District Fire Department and the Port Medway Fire Department cover close to threequarters of the area shown on the map.  Greenfield Fire Department covers the remaining stretch of the Medway River lying down stream from Ponhook Lake (map).   They all border on Lunenberg County, lie on the eastern edge of The Municipality of Queens, and offer coverage to the length of the Medway River Road.

Several years ago the first three departments agreed to be automatically paged at the same time as the covering fire department during emergencies.  Typically we have situations such as one which occurred on 24 May 2008.  A call was received around 1820 hrs. reporting a chimney fire in East Berlin.  That is part of the Port Medway Fire District.  All member departments responded, with Charleston and Mill Village waiting at their fire halls while Port Medway assessed the situation.  Fortunately, everything was brought under control quickly and the other departments were told to stand down.  On 27 June, 2008, at about 2300 hrs. a structural fire was reported in Charleston.  All departments responded immediately with all equipment and available fire fighters to the scene. Shortly afterward the Liverpool Fire Department arrived after a Mutual Aid Call.  When reported, the fire was fully engaged.  A dozen trucks and perhaps 50 fire fighters managed to save adjacent buildings but had to pour water on the fire until around 0530 hrs.  In this situation three trucks were busy bringing water to a portable tank from which a fourth truck pumped water about 200 feet to a fifth truck, which in turn fed the various hoses.

The individual departments were formed over 50 years ago to satisfy the special needs of the communities. In some departments, there are still a few living founding members. At that time the equipment was much less sophisticated and the communities were younger. The Mill Village School had sufficient enrollment to justify classes from K to 8. That is not the case now and all the communities have an appreciably older population. Mill Village Fire Department is typical, with its youngest member being 33, its oldest being 73 and its longest serving is 72 with over 50 years service. Mill Village also has a husband and wife team. The average age is well over 50.