The story at a glance
Hand-powered beginnings.
Generations of service.
Maxfield’s roots reach back to John Maxfield’s 1891 gift of land for an engine house and the hand pumper purchased in 1893. The Hose and Engine companies united in 1948. Along the way, members helped establish local first aid response, supported young firefighters and preserved historic apparatus while advancing the company’s firefighting capabilities.
Explore a chapter below for the details, or jump to the apparatus archive.
1891–1894A gift of land and a company takes shape
In July 1891, town officials considered firefighting equipment and accepted John Maxfield’s offer of land on Main Street for an engine house. The proposed building would also hold a jail, council and meeting rooms, and a courtroom. Maxfield became the department’s first honorary member on July 30.
The new department’s bylaws established Hook and Ladder and Bucket sections; the Bucket Section would become the Engine Section when an engine was acquired. In August 1893, the town authorized a Gleason & Bailey hand pumper, hose reel and 500 feet of hose.
The Maxfield Engine House was completed in early 1894. The first known Maxfield Engine and Hose bylaws date to September 21, 1894; the exact date the companies began meeting separately is unclear.
1915–1923From horse-drawn steam to motor power
A 1915 American LaFrance “Medium” Metropolitan Steamer brought a 600-gallon-per-minute pump and a two-horse hitch to Maxfield. Motor apparatus followed: the company narrative describes an early-1920s Stearns touring-car conversion, while the apparatus archive records a 1923 Waterous engine.
The steamer later became a department-wide restoration project. Members of all five companies helped restore it in the 1960s, and it returned to parade duty in 1965. The historical account records its later loan to the New Jersey Firemen’s Home museum.
1931–1942First aid and the next generation
In 1931, department members, primarily from Maxfield Hose & Engine, attended Red Cross First Aid classes in Paterson. They carried equipment on the Maxfield engine and answered calls in Boonton, Boonton Township and Mountain Lakes until the Kiwanis First Aid Squad formed in 1938.
An auxiliary fire department formed during World War II in 1942, meeting and drilling at the Maxfield Engine House. Many participants later joined the department, and some became Chief. The organization adopted the Boonton Junior Fire Department name in 1990.
1938–1948A new color and a united company
One of two Ahrens Fox pumpers purchased by Boonton in 1938 went to Maxfield. It introduced the company to the department’s distinctive Croydon cream color and carried a 500-gallon-per-minute pump in an open-cab design.
Plans to combine Maxfield Hose and Maxfield Engine began in mid-1948. The first meeting of the combined Maxfield Hose and Engine Company took place on October 6, 1948.
1955–1991Modern pumpers and preserved history
A 1955 Seagrave brought a 750-gallon-per-minute pump. In 1956, local artist John Howell painted the original hose cart and hand pumper on its doors. A Hahn followed, introducing a 1,000-gallon-per-minute pump and an enclosed cab.
The older trucks continued to tell the company’s story. Thomas Corigliano Jr. acquired the Ahrens Fox in 1981 and restored it for the department’s centennial parade in 1991. The company narrative also credits Joseph DiBello with bringing the Seagrave back to working order after acquiring it in 1991.
1997–2019More capacity for changing needs
The 1997 Sutphen combined a 1,250-gallon-per-minute pump, 500-gallon tank and eight-person enclosed cab. It was part of a broader effort to update Boonton’s firefighting apparatus.
In September 2019, a Pierce Enforcer entered service with Maxfield Hose & Engine. Its 2,000-gallon-per-minute pump, 750-gallon water tank and expanded equipment capacity continued the company’s long progression from hand-powered engines to modern suppression apparatus.
