Depicted here are the remnants of the Biddeford City Building after it caught flame on January 1st, 1895. The fire had started fresh into the new year at 12:55 a.m.. Due to the close proximity, multiple other buildings were damaged in the fire including First National Bank, the City Opera House and the Biddeford Police Station. Firefighters were criticized for the amount of water they had used to extinguish the blaze. The temperature was so cold that all of the water used turned to ice, completely freezing the power-lines and the sidewalk. Luckily, all of the vaults inside the various buildings were safe from the fire, thus saving various important banking, criminal and city documents.