A shiny, red Ahrens-Fox Chemical hose and wagon is the centerpiece of the Hoboken Fire Department Museum. It dates back to 1932.

“In those days, it was the Cadillac of fire engines,” said Bill Bergin, a retired Hoboken Deputy Chief and curator of the Hoboken Fire Department Museum.

The city’s firefighting history is on display in the historic Bloomfield Street building, which for a short time served as a firehouse in the 1880s. The volunteer fire department started years earlier, in 1849, according Bill Bergin.

“They started, seven men started the volunteer department, and then as the town grew, the size of the volunteer department grew,” said Bergin.

Bergin says in 1891, the city established a paid fire department and the equipment evolved over time. Initially, firefighters pulled hand-drawn carriages to the scene.

“And it was a very competitive type of an operation. Engine 1 always wanted to get there before Engine 5, and they really worked hard and wanted to be number one,” said Bergin.

Eventually, they used horses to get to the fire.

“Hoboken, at one time, had 32 horses. Depending on the size of the apparatus, if it was a heavy one with the ladders and everything on it, they would be pulled by three horses. If it was something smaller, they would use just two horses,” said Bergin.

The museum opened in 1985. It’s full of memorabilia like helmets, badges, fire equipment and more. Everything has been donated by firefighters throughout Hoboken or their families. A historical fire engine is one of the most popular things in the museum and it’s still used today in parades.

The walls are covered with old photographs, too. Of course, with it being the city of Hoboken, there’s a Frank Sinatra connection.

“Frank Sinatra’s father was a fire captain on the job,” said Bergin.

Before residents could dial 9-1-1, they relied on red fire alarm boxes. Bergin says there were more than 150 in Hoboken.

“And the individual who saw the fire, he would pull that alarm and hopefully he would stay there to direct us where the fire actually was. But the alarm would come in and that large bell would knock you for a loop if you heard it come in,” recalled Bergin. “It would punch in with that bell and would also punch holes in that tape, and the watchman would read the tape, see where it was, then he’d look up at that call board and that would tell us where we’d have to go.”

The Army veteran joined the department in 1960. He remembers what he used to say to new firefighters over the years.

“I tell just them they’re coming on to best job in the world, one of the best jobs you can have, and the rewarding thing for me was when I’d see them six months later. I’d say, ‘what do you think about the job?’ They don’t say ‘I like it,’ it’s, ‘I love it,'” said Bergin.

Now Bergin devotes his time to the museum and the young visitors who stop by. He’s hoping to inspire the next generation of firefighters.