Berkley Fire Rescue
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Organized in 1947 as a volunteer department, present day Berkley Fire-Rescue operates as a combination agency with four full time staff alongside 45 on-call members. Serving 16.4 square miles of the Town of Berkley the department provides Fire and Rescue protection.
Public Safety Building
The department's original two stations were built in 1953 and 1957 while the current Public Safety Building housing the fire and police departments was constructed in the 1990's. The early communications system in 1960 consisted of a "Red Network" with nine phones installed at key locations with a dispatch console at the home of the chief whose wife was the sole dispatcher for decades. The system also included phones in the homes of selected key members
who upon receipt of an alarm would respond to the firehouses and "pull the hook" manually activating the house siren to alert the members to the alarm.
Engine 1 - 2000 International 4900/KME 1250 gpm/1000 gal.
Tanker 1 - 2016 Freightliner 114SD/KME 1500 gpm/4000 gal.
Responding with just the driver on duty, this rig is assigned first due to most alarms.
Truck 3 (Retired) - 1975 Maxim F Series 100'
Having originally served the Elmont (Long Island, New York) FD, this rig entered service in 2002. To pay homage to Elmont for their assistance in helping Berkley obtain this truck on a limited budget, their 75th Anniversary patch was left on the apparatus with "Many Thanks To" added above the artwork. Equipped with Holmatro® extrication tools, it operated largely as a "rolling tool box". Retired in 2019 with a 1995
Emergency One Hurricane 110' rear mount aerial (ex-Exeter, New Hampshire and Lawrence, Massachusetts), it was acquired by a private collector who displays it on the muster circuit throughout New England.
Marine Unit - 17' Mako
With the Assonet and Taunton Rivers bordering the Town of Berkley, the department operates two watercraft including this 17' Mako that formerly served the harbormaster in the neighboring community of Dighton. Outfitted with a 90 HP outboard motor, it is kept docked from the Spring through Fall for rapid response while a 10' Zodiac® rigid inflatable is available for response year-round.
