Neighboring district helped Lincoln fight Chester wildfire
The Howland-based district is Lincoln Fire's busiest mutual-aid partner, and each department relies on the other.
Crews from the Central Maine Highlands Fire & EMS District #1 helped the Lincoln Fire Department fight a 7.1-acre wildland fire in Chester on Aug. 31.
Lincoln Fire Chief Les Brown said crews worked about nine hours at the fire near Access Road. No buildings were involved. On Sept. 1, Brown said the cause had not been determined.
Two firefighters were treated for a minor burn and a sprain. Brown said both are back at work.
Neighbors on call
The Howland-based district is Lincoln’s main mutual-aid partner. That’s according to a 2026 brief from Lincoln Fire & EMS to the Lincoln Town Council.
From Jan. 1, 2025, to Feb. 27, 2026, the district helped Lincoln on 54 fire calls, and Lincoln helped the district on 37. No other department came close. Lincoln traded no more than four calls each way with Millinocket, East Millinocket, Milford and Greenbush.
Lincoln’s call records show how often its crews work outside town. In 2025 the department logged 34 fire calls and 51 EMS calls listed as mutual aid.
Stretched thin on both sides
The brief also describes the limits of that help. District crews are “a minimum of 10 minutes away at best,” it says. Lincoln usually sends five firefighters to a house fire, and national standards call for 17.
“The age of the volunteer has all but ceased to exist,” the brief says.
The district formed in 2024 for similar reasons. Small volunteer departments in Howland, Enfield, Edinburg and nearby towns were struggling to find people and afford equipment, and they pooled their resources under one district.
The district is also working to make joint calls run more smoothly. It recently received a $16,497.84 Homeland Security grant for new radios on all its units. The district says one standard radio will “improve interoperability with area service providers.”
Disclosure: Lincoln Town Square founder Christopher Lord helped form the district and served on its board of directors for Edinburg until he resigned Aug. 21, 2026, after moving to Lincoln.