Public Safety: At least 12 people displaced in Brown Street fire

On Friday at 3:02 a.m. firefighters responded to a fire in a house at 49 Brown St. Multiple engines, along with a ladder team, a rescue team and the deputy arrived on scene, where they observed visible fire on the right-side corner of the building.

Firefighters conducted a search-and-rescue operation and got all residents out of the building. An elderly woman who resided in the unit where the fire began was transported to the hospital for low oxygen levels.

The last unit cleared the building at 5:33 a.m., and at least 12 people were displaced. The Red Cross was on scene to help those displaced by the fire.

The fire department believes the fire started as a result of an overheated electrical power strip in proximity to a wooden bedframe and combustible bedding. It reports the fire may have been accelerated by the apartment tenant’s oxygen machine.

Additional public safety items

Between 10 a.m. on Aug. 21 and 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 25, not counting radio check-ins from patrol cars, the most common categories of incidents were medical incidents, at approximately 14% of all items logged in the police blotter; police assistance or follow-ups on previous incidents, at 11%; 911 hangups, at 11%; traffic stops by police officers, at 11%, and other traffic incidents, at 14%.

A summary of additional police and fire department activity from Aug. 21 to Aug. 26 is as follows:

On Aug. 21 at 10:53 a.m. firefighters responded to a hazardous materials call on Main Street after a leak of traces of lithium phosphorus chloride powder. They contacted the Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Division to help evacuate and ventilate the building, and the incident was handled by 1:37 p.m.

At 12:16 p.m. police responded to a call from a motorist at the corner of Adams and Walnut streets. The motorist had attempted a turn and almost collided with a passing bicyclist — described as a white man with jeans and a denim shirt, estimated to be about 40 years old. When the motorist rolled down their window to apologize, the bicyclist reportedly rode his bike up onto the side of the vehicle and grabbed the side of the motorist’s face to yell at them. He left when the motorist threatened to call the police. Officers closed the investigation when they could not identify the bicyclist.

At 2:46 p.m. a resident was reported missing from a group home. Officers located them and escorted them home on Aug. 23 at 1:07 a.m.

On Aug. 22 at 7:57 a.m. the fire department responded to reports of smoke in the building of a T.J. Maxx. They identified the smoke as coming out of the belt of a broken 8-track machine, which the building agreed to repair.

At 10:40 a.m. officers found a juvenile who had been reported missing and reunited them with their parents.

At 11:01 a.m. police responded to a call about fireworks being set off at Cavalry Cemetery. Newton police provided the primary response on this call.

At 1:30 p.m. police responded to a report of suspicious activity at Dermody Road. When they arrived, after talking to the reporting party, they identified Marie Schneider 43, of 38 Dermody Road, who they arrested at 2:21 p.m. on an existing warrant for an assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

At 6:16 p.m., police responded to a report of a larceny at the Costco at 71 Second Ave. Officers learned the incident was a misunderstanding stemming from a misplaced pair of glasses.

At 11:59 p.m. police took a report from the operator of a car that had been hit by a vehicle from behind while it was parked in front of Shopper’s Café. The other vehicle did not stop or leave their information, but officers identified it and sent its operator a summons to appear in court.

On Aug. 23 at 2:10 p.m. police responded to a report of a larceny at a Spruce Street residence. The homeowner reported that they had returned home the previous day to find the deadbolt on his door damaged as if it had been forced open. No one was found at the home, there were no injuries, and no items were missing, but the resident estimated the door had sustained about $200 in damage. Police closed the investigation given a lack of further information.

At 2:26 p.m. police responded to a report from the owner of a parked car that had been struck on the left rear bumper by an unknown vehicle while parked at 839 Main St. Witnesses described seeing a grey SUV hit the parked car and drive off. Officers retrieved a New Hampshire license plate that appeared to have fallen off the absent car during the collision. Soon after, they observed a grey Lexus with a matching license plate missing its front plate. They approached the vehicle’s operator, who maintained they were not involved in the crash, and served them with a summons to appear in court.

At 4:13 p.m. firefighters responded to reports of a vehicle fire on Ravenswood Road. They found a car with smoke on the inside and a fire in the passenger compartment. They extinguished the fire before it expanded.

At 5:59 p.m. firefighters responded to and put out a mulch fire at the Rockland Trust at 75 Moody St. 

At 9:23 p.m. police responded to a report of larceny at a Fiske Street residence. The homeowner reported that a construction compactor had been taken from their rear yard. They also reported that a leaf blower and a chainsaw appeared to have been taken from their yard two months ago, for a combined total value of $700. This incident is still under investigation.

At 10:04 p.m. police responded to a domestic dispute at a Stratton Terrace residence.

On August 24 at 12:49 a.m., police arrived at the Guanachapi’s parking lot at 154 River St., where an unidentified vehicle had backed into another car and then left the scene. Police were unable to identify the car that caused the accident. 

At 3:09 p.m. police observed a red Honda Accord in the area of Main St. and Exchange St. whose registration was not associated with a driver’s license. They pulled over Jose Reyes, 32, of 17 Weston St. who had an existing warrant for driving without a license; Reyes stated to officers that he did not have a license. Officers arrested Reyes for two counts of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

At 5:19 p.m. police arrested a person residing on  Worcestershire Road on warrant for vandalism and assault and battery of a family member.

On Aug. 25 at 12:37 a.m., at the request of Concord Police, police attempted to locate a lost cell phone around 25 Middlesex Road. Officers were unable to retrieve the cell phone.

At 12:29 and 12:52 p.m., police received reports of a man yelling at patrons outside of the Community Day Center at 16 Felton St. The man was gone when police arrived, and building security were advised to call back if he returned.

At 5:22 p.m. police arrested William Calden, 45, of 65 Newton St. on a warrant for trespassing.

All information was obtained from spokespeople with the Waltham Police Department the publicly available police blotter and police reports available at Waltham District Court.