The municipal Easton Fire Department was established in 1990 after nearly a decade of slowly building interest among townsfolk. Prior to 1990, the town had a small forestry department that operated with hand tools, but structural fire protection was provided by Franconia (as early as 1936) and Sugar Hill (as early as 1960). By the early 1980s, those two towns encouraged Easton to begin their own fire department to supplement operations. Due to population levels, however, it was difficult to find enough interest. Nevertheless, Easton joined the Twin State Fire Mutual Aid association in 1982 as an associate member. The town also began saving for equipment and construction costs.

In 1990, interest was high enough and the town built a two-bay garage near the town hall on Easton Valley Road. The department bought a 1969 Ford engine with unknown size pump and tank for Engine 1; it had originally served the Torrent Fire Company in Boscawen, NH. A summertime resident from nearby Benton had read about the efforts of the fire department around this time and wanted to help spin up the operation. As a retired captain of the Mamaroneck, NY village fire department, he was aware that a 1964 Seagrave was available for purchase as it had just been replaced by the village. He purchased the truck and drove it, along with a truckload of firefighting equipment, from New York to New Hampshire. This open-cab engine with 1250 GPM pump and 500 gallon tank was assigned to Engine 2.

For a brief moment around 1994, the department obtained an unknown make pickup from the state surplus program, but due to lack of funding for insurance it had to be returned. In 1996, the family that had donated the Seagrave had the opportunity to bring another truck from Mamaroneck to Easton. This time it was a 1972 Oren with a 1500 GPM pump and 500 gallon tank. It was assigned to Engine 1, replacing the Ford.

In 1998, a used, 1400 gallon oil tank was donated to the town for use as a tanker. The department raised money to place the tank onto a 1983 International chassis from the state forestry service. The build was completed in 1999 and was designated Tanker 1, replacing the Seagrave of Engine 2.

In 2004, the department replaced Engine 1’s Oren with a 1988 Simon Duplex/Young engine that was obtained via Department of Homeland Security grant. The truck had previously served the Arlington County and Mount Jackson, VA fire departments and was equipped with a 1250 GPM pump and 500 gallon tank.

The department used these two apparatus for 15 years. In 2019, a 2005 International/E-One with 1250 GPM pump and 1500 gallon tank that had originally served Thetford, VT was purchased by the town. It was repainted from white over red to the town’s white over yellow scheme, and replaced Tanker 1 on the roster as Engine 2. The tanker was then returned to the state. And in 2024, the department replaced Engine 1’s Simon Duplex/Young with a 2001 International/Pierce that had originally served Margaret Fire Rescue in Alabama. This truck had a 1250 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank.

Easton NH Emergency Services website
Easton Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page

Much of this history relies on town records, fire buff websites, and community memory. If you have photos, documents, or personal recollections related to the Easton Fire Department—especially from prior to 2000—we’d be grateful to hear from you. Please feel free to email nhfirehistory (at) gmail (dot) com with any information you’d like to share.