WCAC

 

Worried about increasing danger, state fire officials are working with Waltham police and fire to solicit help from the public about a rash of suspicious fires at the Fernald property.

The Department of Fire Services (DFS) announced Tuesday that two recent fires at the Fernald property “may be related to fires in January of this year and December 2024.”

“There have been four fires in that area since December. These incidents are dangerous, and we’re deeply concerned that someone is going to be hurt,” said Waltham Police Chief Kevin O’Connell in a DFS release.

 

The chief and State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine and Waltham Fire Chief Andrew Mullin urge anyone with information to call the Arson Watch Reward Hotline at 1-800-682-9229. 

Rewards of up to $5,000 are offered for information that solves, detects or prevents arson crimes.

 

The two most recent fires, on April 19, resulted in damage to the Schoolhouse/Gym and the Manual Training Building. Four alarms were transmitted as companies from a number of surrounding communities assisted Waltham Fire.

 

Firefighters attacked the fires from the exterior, but were present when the roof of one building collapsed and the first floor of another collapsed into the basement, said DFS.

Investigators “believe the fires were set intentionally and separately.”

“These buildings were vacant, but any structure fire is inherently dangerous,” said WFD Chief Mullin. 

 

Investigators also believe that the April 19 fires could be related to two other fires at Fernald in recent months.

 

A fire reported early in the evening of December 14, 2024, at the Chapel of the Holy Innocents caused minor damage. The chapel has been set on fire before, as in the 2021 photo above.

 

The other fire was reported in the late morning of January 18, 2025, at Chipman Hall, causing “catastrophic damage” that included a roof collapse.

“Like the April 19 fires, both of these fires took place on Saturdays,” DFS said.

“If you were in the area of the Fernald School on these dates and saw anything suspicious, or if you have specific information on the person or persons responsible, please share it with investigators at 1-800-682-9229,” said State Fire Marshal Davine. 

 

“You can remain anonymous if you prefer. What’s most important right now is that these fires stop before someone gets hurt.”

 

The sprawling 190-acre Fernald property, closed to the public with no utilities, has been a magnet for arsonists and vandals since the city acquired it more than a decade ago.

Some drone use in recent years has been effective, but Waltham Police have struggled to catch those responsible for dozens of suspicious fires, some of which have required assistance from neighboring fire departments. 

 

A juvenile was charged following a two-alarm fire in the North Building on November 10, 2016, but no additional information is available about the case because of the age of the suspect, according to a DFS spokesperson.

Taken together, the arson fires at Fernald have drastically diminished the potential for re-use of historic buildings now reduced to charred-out shells of their former selves.

Calls have grown for Mayor Jeannette McCarthy to tear down some of the badly damaged buildings to eliminate them as arson targets, but the mayor has said demolition of any of Fernald's historic buildings requires consultation with state and local historic officials.