The EWFD's 1929 Maxim Pumper

The East Williston Fire Department’s 1929 Maxim 500 gallon per minute pumper was the first new piece of fire equipment purchased after East Williston incorporated as a village in April of 1926. The purchase price for the Maxim was $8,000. Our 1929 Maxim served the community well for over 26 years, retiring in 1955 with the purchase of a much more modern GMC pumper.

 

The 1929 Maxim was sold to a construction company for $500. After selling the engine, not much was known about what had happened to it until 1981. In 1981, fire department members from the Huntington Manor Fire Department, looking for their old truck in upstate Pottsdam, New York, came upon our old 1929 Maxim. It was lying under hay in a barn!

 

With this wonderful discovery by the members of the Huntington Manor Fire Department, we were able to contact the owner of the truck and purchase it with funds from the EWFD Exempts at a cost of $1,000. We were told that the Maxim, at one time, had been used to irrigate the farm lands in upstate New York.

 

When the pumper came back to East Williston after 26 years, it created great pride in the whole community since history is so important to the residents of East Williston. An effort was undertaken to restore the pumper, and as the Memorial Day parade, and other community activities came and went, the residents were able to witness the progress of the Maxim's restoration.

 

So far the Maxim pump, transmission motor, and brakes have been rebuilt. The entire truck body has been restored with metal work done, along with a beautiful paint job. All of the woodwork has been completed. As of now, the gas tank is in the process of being restored. Most of this work was done by past and present members of the fire department, and made possible through donations, and fundraising. The 1929 Maxim is the pride of the East Williston Fire Department.