Neighbors and community members responded to a call for help from those impacted by the historic 1936 flood. The Portland Fire Department pressed members into rescue work service. In this photograph, Private Stanley D. Royles of Engine Six helped Muriel and Pauline Staples of Saco with a grin. Firefighters also assisted by pumping fresh water, which was in short supply, to flood victims.

Photo reporters humanized the disaster with images of community members, printed in the pictorial reviews and local editions of the newspapers, alongside aerial views and disaster sites.