Lawnside Fire Remembers John Axford

John Axford, a lifelong fire department photographer whose photography captured personnel, equipment, and emergency situations throughout Camden County and the surrounding area, is being honored by the Lawnside Fire Company.

On September 6, 2026, Axford passed away at his Haddonfield residence. He was seventy-six. Throughout his career, he worked as a police officer, firefighter, Navy veteran, and assistant chief for the Haddonfield Volunteer Fire Company. Additionally, he was acknowledged as an official fire photographer for Camden County.

Axford's relationship with Lawnside firemen extended beyond photography. The business remembered how its first "photo nights" started in a living room with a few fire department photographers and aficionados before developing into a long-standing custom.

Axford amassed a sizable collection of photos of firegrounds and equipment, many of which showed Lawnside Fire Company over time. Fire departments also used his work to record departmental activity and significant incidents.

The Lawnside Fire Company honored a guy they referred to be a Camden County fire photography icon by sharing a number of Axford's more recent photos of the department. His photographs remain part of the visual history of the South Jersey fire service, preserving the people, equipment and incidents he spent decades documenting.