Three-alarm fire at former Fernald State School
By AUBREY HAWKE
Waltham Times Contributing Writer
A three-alarm fire broke out at the Fernald property at 200 Trapelo Road on Saturday morning.
The Waltham Fire Department received a call at 9:53 a.m. about smoke in the area, according to Waltham Fire Lt. Mike Murphy.
“Our responding company quickly responded, and on arrival they found heavy fire showing from a two-and-a-half-story brick building,” said Murphy.
The Fire Department issued a second alarm shortly after arriving at the scene.
Murphy said the significant distance from hydrants on the main road to the fire created a major obstacle in controlling the fire, as firefighters had to lay hoses along that entire distance.
The Fire Department sounded a third alarm around 11 a.m.
All 10 of Waltham’s fire companies were called to the site. The city received aid from the Watertown, Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge fire departments.
By 1 p.m. most of the heavy fire had been knocked down, Murphy said, adding that there were no reports of injuries or anyone present in the building.
The fire was at the Chipman building, which had been a girls’ dormitory of the former Walter E. Fernald State School. The building is historic and was built in 1892, according to the Fernald State School website.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Murphy acknowledged the history of arson, saying that there have been “a number of fires” as well as reports of trespassing and vandalism at the site over the years.
“We have had some intentionally set fires here in some of these buildings in the past. So, it’s been on our radar. We’ve trained on how to put these fires out,” added Richard Grant, deputy chief of fire prevention.
Grant said the Waltham Fire Department and Police Department will conduct a joint investigation with the State Fire Marshal’s office.
Aerial Google Earth image of the former Fernald State School site. Chipman Hall is the building outlined in red. 
Chipman Hall, from The New England Magazine, 1887. Courtesy of fernaldstateschool.com 
Interior of Chipman Hall in a recent photo. Photo by Julie Solis, courtesy of fernaldstateschool.com 
Smoke billows from the burning Chipman Hall. Photo: Joseph Sharkey.
Below is our video of statements by Murphy and Grant. Video by Aubrey Hawke for The Waltham Times.
Editor’s note: This story has been edited to make it consistent with our style guide.
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