Public safety report: Two apartment fires successfully extinguished

The Waltham Fire Department successfully extinguished two apartment fires in the past week.

On Nov. 12 at 9:23 a.m., firefighters responded to reports of a fire in a three-story brick apartment building on Pond Street. The fire was coming from the space above the bathroom fan in a basement apartment unit. Smoke from the fire spanned from the basement to the attic of the house. The building was evacuated and the fire was extinguished. The basement apartment unit was deemed uninhabitable. The building’s three other units and attic were damaged as well.

On Nov. 13 at 5:54 p.m., firefighters responded to an apartment fire on Middlesex Circle. There was visible smoke coming out of the building. The fire began in the kitchen of one of the units. The building was evacuated, and the fire was extinguished.

A summary of police and firefighter activity from Nov. 5 to Nov. 12 is as follows:

On Nov. 5 at 4:11 p.m., police filed a report of a stolen Hyundai Elantra. The car was stolen sometime between Nov. 3 and Nov. 5 from a parking garage on River Street. The car was ultimately recovered in Providence, Rhode Island. The incident is under investigation.

On Nov. 6 at 10:30 a.m., police responded to reports of a Jeep that had been broken into on Hope Avenue. The Jeep had its side rear window broken, and work documents had been stolen from inside the car. At 11:06 a.m., police responded to a second break-in report on Hope Avenue. The second car had its right front passenger window broken, and two pairs of designer sunglasses were stolen. These incidents are believed to be connected and are under investigation.

At 7:40 p.m. police responded to reports of a pedestrian that had been struck by a motor vehicle on Totten Pond Road. The pedestrian was transported to the hospital with a leg injury. A witness reported observing the motor vehicle approaching the area and striking the pedestrian, who was crossing near, but not in, an established crosswalk. The driver of the vehicle had reported being unable to see the pedestrian until the impact.

On Nov. 9 at 9:46 a.m., police were called to Walgreens at 15 Main St. The reporting party had purchased a $200 gift card from Walgreens. When the reporting party went to use it, only 86 cents were on the card. Police believe this incident to be part of a scam where the scammer copies both the card number and security code off of the back of an unpurchased gift card. When the card is purchased and money is loaded onto it, the scammer is able to use the money on the card because they have the codes. This incident is under investigation.

Police responded at 10:45 a.m. to the Extended Stay Deluxe on Fourth Avenue to reports of vandalism. The reporting party stated that when they went to open their motor vehicle, there was peanut butter on the door handle. There are no suspects at this time.

On Nov. 12 at 5:12 p.m., police responded to reports of a text message scam on Charlesbank Way. The reporting party was told that if they didn’t send $800 via Venmo to the scammer, a hitman would be sent to kill them. The reporting party sent the money. This incident is under investigation.

At 7:11 p.m., police responded to reports of larceny on Smith Street. The daughter of an elderly man reported that nearly $1,000 of cash had disappeared from her father’s jacket pocket over the past month. She became aware of this when her father started asking to go to the ATM to make withdrawals more frequently than usual. She reported that he does not make big purchases or leave the apartment often, so she felt it was unlikely that he was spending the money himself. The family placed a camera inside the man’s apartment and captured a hired medical caretaker checking to see if the man was asleep. Upon confirmation that he was sleeping, the caretaker reportedly took the jacket into the kitchen away from view of the camera. Shortly after, the caretaker returned the jacket to the couch. The caretaker has not been identified at this time, and the matter is under investigation.

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