Biddeford History & Heritage Project

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”.