F is for the '47 fire

The Brick Store Museum mounted an entire exhibition about the '47 Fire in 1987.  To view this separate exhibition online, click here.

The Fire of '47: The Week Maine Burned

On Monday, October 20, 1947, a fire that had been mulling underground at North Kennebunkport for almost a week broke out and began to move. Late in the day, fanned by high winds, the fire leapt across Route 1 in an arc of flames that dwarfed the firefighters who stood helplessly by.

Approximately 20,000 volunteers fought the 1947 forest fires. It was challenging to provide leadership to diverse crews made up of college students, farmers, fire chiefs, forest service wardens, city firemen, military personnel and National Guardsmen. Though all fought bravely and well, there was confusion and lost opportunity. Communication was difficult, as only the state police and the military had two-way radios. It was backbreaking work, and many would admit afterwards that they had never worked so hard.

Firefighting equipment—by today’s standards—was primitive and scarce. Most met the flames armed only with brooms, shovels and handkerchiefs tied over their noses to keep the smoke out. Tanker trucks refilled with water from local ponds, but with water scarce and relatively futile against the fast-traveling flames, backfires and bulldozed firebreaks ended up being most effective in stopping the fires.

“Indian” Tank Fire Extinguisher, c. 1945

This hand-operated fire extinguisher was the type used by the Kennebunk Fire Department used throughout the mid 20 th century.  A rubber hose with a wooden nozzle attaches to the copper and brass, backpack-style tank.  A cap on the top removes for filling.  The back of the tank has ventilation holes to help keep the firefighter cool.  The cap and bottom of this “Indian” tank model bear the manufacturer's markings of D. B. Smith and Company of Utica, New York. 

Brick Store Museum Collection.  Gift of the Kennebunk Volunteer Fire Department, 1987.

Fueled by dry timber and drought conditions, the fires ended up consuming 213,000 acres in 35 towns across Maine. While the Kennebunks were spared the widespread destruction experienced by neighboring communities, the towns did lose homes and valuable timber.

Ted Dyer and the 1947 Fire

In 1947, Ted Dyer of Biddeford was “District Man” from the Associated Press and the Portland Press Herald and its affiliated papers. He was responsible for supplying news and photographs of events in Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach, and for covering particularly newsworthy items from throughout York County.

During the forest fire crisis, Dyer was on the spot to photograph the fires and those who fought them, the charred ruins and the stunned refugees.

He recorded the North Kennebunkport fire leaping Route 1 on its way to the sea. He stood on a stone wall at Goose Rocks Beach to photograph the fire’s destructive path among the cottages, until flames—burning in tall beach grass—licked at his boots. He photographed the fire at night as it destroyed the summer colony of Fortunes Rocks in Biddeford. He captured the tense drama at Goodwins Mills as homeowners waited to learn the fate of their village. And, the day after the fire through Lyman, Dyer photographed the new home of Roy Paul, father of eight, rising beside the rubble of the old. The immediacy of Dyer’s photographs makes them one-of-kind. They are also important because original prints and negatives of photographs of Maine’s worst natural disaster are rare. Surprising few have been preserved. It is because of Dyer’s willingness to share these that we have them today.