Biddeford History & Heritage Project

This photograph by B. F. Cole has been made into a stereograph for a wooden viewfinder machine used in the late 19th century. The image shows the Pavilion Church (now McArthur Library) through the ruins of the Shaw Block. Civil engineer Charles Shaw built the block only sixteen years prior to its incineration on May 28, 1872. The block was located on the south side of Main Street, beginning at Jefferson Street and ran nearly half way to the City Building. This is just one instance of a blaze that swept up an entire block. Without the men of the local fire departments, the blaze would have consumed much more of the city.

The ruins of the City Building fire were devastating to behold. The first alarm regarding the blaze rang out at 12:55 AM on New Years Day, 1895. Originating in the bathroom of the City Building, firefighters quickly extinguished the initial fire. However, the smoke inside of the building did not cease. Flames were seen shooting across the ceiling of the Biddeford Police Station. Firemen were unaware that the original flames had been crawling inside of the walls of the bathroom. Almost all of the buildings adjacent to the City Building were left in ruins by the time the fire was considered “All Out” at 6 AM. Losses included the Biddeford Police Department, all of the offices of the City Building, the City Opera House, the bell tower that stood about the council chamber, First National Bank and a number of small businesses and apartments. Luckily, the heavy snow fall on top of the roofs of the buildings ensured that the flames did not spread all the way across Main and Adams Street.

During the early morning firefighting, the temperature was six degrees below zero Fahrenheit. All of the ice that accumulated came from the water used to put the fire out. The massive walls of ice completely encased the electrical pole outside of the City Building, wrapping and shattering the power lines in the process. While the total losses totaled close to $7 million in today's dollars, none of the vaults inside the City Building and First National Bank were damaged, saving thousands of city and banking records.

It was a sweeping fire which consumed the Saco Flats on September 15, 1908. Starting at around midnight, the Saco Fire Department were the first responders. They arrived several minutes after the call was received from Box 67, near the Crossman and Son's Box Shop. It is assumed that the fire started because someone carelessly tossed their lit match into the sawdust of the lumberyard across from the box shop. By the time the conflagration was finally stamped out, thirty-one buildings, twelve million feet of lumber and two tenement buildings were reduced to ashes.

Flying embers were carried by intense wind as far as Five Points in Biddeford. The flames threatened the Deering-Proctor Lumber Company as well as the Diamond Match Company, which lay just on the opposite side of the Saco River. Assistance from the fire departments of Biddeford, Saco, Portland, Sanford, Kennebunk and Old Orchard Beach were required in order to contain the fire. Causing roughly $10 million dollars in damage by today's standards, the fire stopped just short of the Somesville Bridge and is one of the worst blazes in Saco's history.

Only an image fully depicts the widespread destruction of the fire at Harmon's Corner on July 8, 1911. Harmon's Corner was the area at the modern day cross streets of Main and Elm Streets in Biddeford. At 10:40 PM, the call went out to the Biddeford Fire Department from box 26 at the cross streets. Only five minutes after the call was received the “Assistance Needed” six bell alarm rang out, awakening all of the residents of both cities. Half an hour later, the Biddeford and Saco Fire Departments needed more assistance and called for aid from Portland.

The two crews of thirty-six men from Portland did not arrive with their engine and hose 12:50 AM on Sunday morning. Upon their arrival, the Portland Fire Department discovered they forgot the pressure reducer used to attach their hoses to the Biddeford hydrants. Portland obtained a spare reducer from the Saco engine, the Governor Fairfield. After forty minutes, Portland turned on their stream and joined the rest of the crews already straining to extinguish the torrent of flames that covered a tenement building. The $150,000 worth of business and residential damage is equivalent to just over three and a half million dollars in today's market.

Charles E. Moody vividly captured how much damage was done to the J. G. Deering and Son's lumberyard on February 9, 1913. Two Walnut Street residents discovered the fire in the planing mill at 11:10 PM and quickly attempted to snuff the flames with the emergency hose before they swept the entire 150 foot long mill building. Police Officer John Norton came upon the blaze and quickly alerted the Biddeford Fire Department from Box 23 from just inside the lumberyard gates.

The owner of the mill, Frank C. Deering commented to the Biddeford Daily Journal that the fire must have been the work of an arsonist. Mr. Deering mentioned several coincidences in connection with the fire, claiming that there had been several attempts to set fire to the mill at the same time over the past three Saturdays. The Lafayette house (aka Spring's Tavern) was used as the business office for the company and was in danger due to the fire's proximity. Luckily, the amount of snow and the opposite direction of the blowing wind ensured that the colonial building did not receive any damage. Deering suffered $40,000 dollars worth of damage but was ensured insured for $30,000, limiting the overall cost of the repairs.

Grafton Lumber Company was located in the old Saco-Lowell Shops buildings at Elm and Gooch Streets. The blaze was discovered at 8:30 PM on March 20, 1963. The fire department did not sound the “All Out” bell until forty-four and a half hours later. The firefighters of Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough, South Portland, Portland, Falmouth and Kennebunk were all hampered in their fighting by strong winds and falling brick walls.

The Saco Steel company owned part of the building. The safety valves of their oxygen and acetylene tanks failed catastrophically. This increased the spread of the fire and spewed more flamable gases into the already raging inferno. One South Portland firefighter commented to the Biddeford Daily Journal, “that damned thing just burned and burned and their wasn't a thing we could do. I thought for sure that the whole neighborhood was going to go”.

It is impressive to note how the front section of the 1921 Saco-Lowell building survived the blaze which destroyed just about all of the building built in 1911. The total financial losses on the building are approximately $7.5 million in today's economy. As is typical with the majority of massive fire destruction, thousands of local citizens were drawn to watch the conflagration. The police departments of both Biddeford and Saco were busy securing the perimeter of the building and ensuring the safety of the spectators.

The Diamond National lumberyard was consumed by flames exactly one month following the destruction of the Grafton lumberyard. The lighted mill windows depict how fast the fire progressed when it reached the large mill at around 1:30 PM. Half of a square mile of Hooper Street was consumed by the fire, this included eighteen buildings, of which many were tenement housing.

Perpendicular to Hooper is Elm Street, which was in constant danger from the fiery embers carried by sweeping winds. The heat from the burning wood in the yard was so intense that firemen were working constantly to replace their scorched hose lines. A special city council meeting that evening was held that night in order to address the overall hose shortage that had been caused by the blaze.

The Diamond National fire was one of the worst blazes in Biddeford's history. Fifteen homes were destroyed on Hooper Street, leaving 142 people homeless. A pair of two buildings were tenement housing that held five families each. Once the harsh winds brought the embers across to Hooper Street, the tenement buildings were completely reduced to ash within two hours.

An eye-witness reporter from the Portland Sunday Telegram commented that “an outside fuel-oil tank had just exploded in an upper tenement. The flying pieces of material could be seen as a fireman was sheltering his face. Driven by a fierce wind, the flames spread so fast that people did not have time to move their cars from side yards.” The total destruction of the blaze totaled over $15 million dollars by today's economy. In the attempt to ensure the fire did not reach Elm street it took the fire trucks of thirteen communities and the efforts of 300 individual firemen.

The vacant buildings at Marblehead boatyard were engulfed in flames on May 4, 1965. The boatyard was built in 1922 and sold its vessels all over the United States. However the manufacturing business that owned the property finished producing water vehicles in 1962. The Biddeford Daily Journal reported that the fire had apparently started in one of the empty shed buildings around 7:30 PM that evening.

While the total losses accumulated to around $800,000, one fireman was injured by falling through some of the burning boards. He was lodged up to his waist in the charred wood. After observations, the firefighter was dismissed from Webber Hospital (now Southern Maine Health Center), the following day. The blaze drew assistance from local communities including Kennebunkport, Goose Rocks and even Scarborough. The Biddeford Fire Department officially labeled the origins of the fire as unknown, following the investigations into the cause of the conflagration.

This tenement building, located on the corner of Washington and Alfred Streets, erupted into flames on November 23, 1973. Starting around 10:15 PM, the “All Out” bell was not rung until the following morning at 9:30 AM. The heating oil tanks inside of the tenement building exploded over time, and ripped into the foundation. This required the assistance of 150 firemen from Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough and Portland.

By working together, the firemen of the local communities were able to contain the blaze to the original building and put out the roof fires of on other Washington Street tenements. The Biddeford Daily Journal reported that one resident of the tenement building, Richard Moody, had successfully evacuated the first and second floors. Luckily all 45 residents of the building, including 28 children, were safely removed from the burning structure.

The headquarters of the Fraternal Order of the Eagles Aerie 804 was located res at 57 Birch Street in Biddeford. The building burst into flames on January 17, 1977. According to the Biddeford Daily Journal, the first alarm was reported to the Biddeford Fire Department at 2:29 AM that morning. The two and a half story building ignited due to an explosion inside of the club. Minutes later, another explosion spread the flames and began to cause damage to the adjacent apartment building. A total of 75 firefighters from Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach fought to extinguish the raging fire.

Biddeford and Saco's history is pockmarked by violent and disastrous fires. Without the help of the local communities, these fires would have caused significantly more damage. This is especially true in the cases of the Saco Flats, Grafton Lumber, and Diamond-National. Through these legendary events, the importance of the local community connections and the unquestionably brave firefighters is undeniable. Some of the damage from these fires can still be seen in the cities of Biddeford and Saco. However, without the communal ties that have bound these two cities, the destruction could have been significantly worse, both economically and socially.