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.
