The Great New Auburn Fire began just after lunchtime on Monday, May 15, 1933, when an 11-year-old boy started a fire behind a gas station on Mill Street. Driven by high gusting winds, it spread rapidly through old wooden tenements and businesses, while bits of burning material carried for blocks ignited fires ahead of the main blaze. Low water pressure hindered firefighters, and embers crossed the river to start three fires in Lewiston. Fire crews were stationed on the roofs of the Continental Mill and on tenement buildings on Oxford and River Streets. The firestorm consumed much of lower New Auburn, destroying 249 buildings and leaving 422 families and 2,167 individuals homeless. The Wilson School, St. Louis School, and Beth Abraham Synagogue were lost.