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Fires in Rumford

Text by Jane W. Peterson, Nghia Ha, and David Gawtry
Images provided by the Rumford Area Historical Society

Histories of all old towns in Maine always contain references to devastating fires, which were the result of unsupervised candles, lanterns, wood or oil stoves, or cigarettes from human hands. Rumford experienced numerous expensive fires.

The huge piles of pulpwood that were stored on the grounds of the International Paper Company and the Oxford Paper Company were constantly sprayed with water to reduce the possibility of fires. However, in spite of all efforts, a long-burning fire occurred in 1919 and required extensive measures to extinguish.

Waldo Street Area
Waldo Street AreaWaldo Street Fire slide show

The Waldo Street Fire was, and still is, Rumford’s most serious fire. In the years from 1892 to 1923, Waldo Street had become a secondary business district to the Congress Street business area and had spurred the growth of a collection of multi-storied tenement buildings, constructed very close together. These apartment complexes housed many of the less well-paid workers of the mills.

According to a Rumford Falls Times article of August 4, 1923 by a Mr. Madore, the fire was first discovered at 5:10 p.m. on August 2, 1923, by the Majestic theater’s stage carpenter, Eli Roy. The fire seemed to come from the stage area. Roy did his best to smother the flames, but, realizing it was beyond his control, he quickly notified the residents of the nearby Nile Block tenement. His prompt alert saved the lives of all the residents in that building and helped to spread the alarm to neighbors. A bucket brigade was quickly formed to help stem the advancing flames.

The town’s fire alarm brought the firemen, their teams of horses to haul the equipment, and the hoses from both Rumford and the adjoining town of Mexico. Unfortunately, there was a lack of water pressure in the town’s water pipes. Although both the International Paper Company and the Oxford Paper Company shut down their operations requiring water usage, the amount of water was inadequate or insufficient to reach the upper stories of the large buildings. Having nearly depleted the water in the reservoir, the firemen even pumped water from the Androscoggin River. None of these measures stopped the flames in the tightly packed facilities.

It became apparent by 7:00 p.m., with the fire having spread to both sides of Waldo Street and to houses on Falmouth and Hancock Streets, that additional help was needed to contain the blaze. A call was placed to Lewiston Fire Company for aid, and by 7:10 p.m., a train loaded with firemen and equipment departed for Rumford. It arrived by 8:30 p.m., but it took until 11:00 p.m. for fire personnel to declare the fire ended.

In the Times newspaper commemorative interview on July 20, 1988, with Elmire Kimball, a 5-year-old child at the time of the fire, the scene was described as one of chaos, fear, horror, and destitution. While there was no loss of life or life-threatening injuries, 300 families (700 people) were left homeless with only the clothes on their backs; 28 buildings had been destroyed; and the losses totaled $500,000. All this devastation occurred between 5:10 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. A poem by John McInnis is a graphic description of this historic conflagration.

A significant and financially catastrophic fire happened at the Hotel Rumford on Exchange Street in November, 1929. This fire resulted in destruction of the two upper stories and damage to the offices (including the Rumford Falls Times publication facility) and stores on the first floor. The loss from this event was approximately $200,000. In February, 1931, another fire occurred on Congress Street, gutting the Strathglass Building (later known as Hotel Harris). This fire occurred on a severely cold winter night, and firemen were hampered by ice forming on their clothing, causing seven of them to be injured while fighting the fire. The exterior and first floor of the building were saved, but losses totaled $175,000.

SOURCES:

Rumford Falls Times, August, 4, 1923
Rumford Falls Times, July 20, 1988
Poem by John McInnis
Rumford Falls Times, November 29, 1929
Lewiston Sun Journal, February 16, 1931


Composed by: JOHN F. McINNIS

They say it was in the Majestic, where the fire first began,
At five o’clock in the evening, before the pictures went in;
It is lucky it wasn’t later, while the show was going on,
God know how many would have perished, if the pictures had been on.

So if you have children of your own, pray keep them in at night,
For you cannot trust the children now, when they are out of sight;
If you let them out in the evening, they start off to a show,
Thinking little of the dangers that are in the places where they go.

When the whistle blew in the first alarm, just as the fire began,
MacPhee with Welch’s dapple grays to the fire came prancing on,
With the hose and reek, he held the field, for he had got there first,
He quickly turned the water on and the rotten old hose burst.

The most of them got excited, then they began to jump and prance,
You would think to watch their actions, they had St. Vitus dance;
MacPhee talked gently to them, the truth I do declare,
He had them steadied down to work when the fire teams got there.

They started in with courage brave, to fight this awful flame,
For haft and hour with a steady shower, but the fire on them did gain;
They called for help from Lewiston, it was late when they get there,
They had the fire under control, the truth I do declare.

Twenty-two blocks in all, both large and small, the firemen did say,
Before ten o’clock that evening, in coals and ashes lay;
You could see women and children on the street, running to and fro,
Three hundred of them burned homeless, no place for them to go.

Thanks to kind friends and neighbors, who sheltered them for the night,
Keeping them a day or two, ‘till they got straightened around alright;
It’s a hard place here on firemen, and on those who have command,
Smoke from home brew and high wine too, their stomachs cannot stand.

Next morning to view the ruins was an awful sight,
I pity those poor firemen, who labored hard all night;
Out of all the crew, they could find but two, and they were left alone,
Laying helpless on the grass, signing “My Old Savannah Home”.

It the smoke from home brew, troubles you, I tell what you require,
Be sure and put your gas mask on when you go to fight a fire;
If you don’t you will be sorry, it will smother you some day,
So, if you have none to put on, from the fire keep away.





Western Maine Foothills Region
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