Police, Fire & Courts

Onset Fire District’s annual meeting is May 16

The Onset Fire District will hold its annual district meeting today, May 16. The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the new fire station, located at 8 Sand Pond Rd. Voters will be asked to weigh in on a total of 36 items, most of which are related...

Trash fire extinguished by Onset Fire Department

An ABC residential trash truck was on fire Monday at noontime as high winds whipped through Onset. On Tuesday, Captain Ryan Quinn recounted the event. He assisted on the scene Monday. “[The driver] saw smoke coming out so he went to a spot where...

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Tree falls on wires, spark brush fire near Glen Charlie Road

The strong winds worsened a brush fire in East Wareham Monday afternoon, after a tree had fallen onto electrical wires and caused the forested floor to ignite. “It just kind of accelerated itself,” Wareham Fire Department Chief John Kelley said in a...

Garage fire in Onset believed to be suspicious, department says

A fire that destroyed a vacant garage and melted fencing across the street last night is “believed to be suspicious in nature,” the Onset Fire Department said. As of Monday morning, the fire was still being investigated, and the cause of the fire...

Rochester car crash kills Wareham businessman

ROCHESTER — The long-time owner of a Wareham business has been identified as the victim of a car accident Saturday, March 26 in Rochester. Bruce Leonard, who owned Cape Cod Choppers, a motorcycle shop, was killed when the vehicle he was riding in...

Police ask business owners for after-hours contact info

The Wareham Police Department is asking business owners for emergency contact information so officers can get in touch during after-hours patrol, the department says. In a March 10 Facebook post, the department urged managers and those with keys to...

Firefighters respond to Red Robin dumpster fire

Several Wareham Fire Department officials extinguished a fire underneath a dumpster at Red Robin Monday afternoon, the department said in a Facebook post later that night. “Firefighters had to move the dumpster to access burning materials under it...

Wareham Fire District receives grants for student, senior fire safety

The Wareham Fire Department has been awarded grant funds to help educate students and seniors about fire safety. The district received $4,273 from the state’s Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) program to fund fire safety education for...

Wareham Fire District appoints new chief

The Wareham Fire District’s Prudential Committee appointed Assistant Chief John Kelley as the department’s next fire chief, pending contract negotiations. The Selection subcommittee voted unanimously on Thursday night to name Kelley as Fire Chief...

Driver in fatal 2020 hit-and-run to serve one year in house of corrections

Cameron Silva, the young driver who struck Kenneth Baptiste’s motorcycle from behind in a fatal hit-and-run accident in June 2020, has been sentenced to one year in the house of corrections, along with three years of probation. His license has been...

Two-car crash detours Rt. 6, Cromesett Road intersection

The intersection of Route 6 and Cromesett Road was detoured this morning after a car crash that left both vehicles with crumpled hoods in the roadway. The Wareham Fire Department sent two crews out this morning after hearing reports of a two-car...

Wareham Fire responds to nine calls before noon

The Wareham Fire Department responded to nine incidents on Thursday morning, ranging from medical calls to smoke investigations and a ruptured fuel tank. The morning began with a utility problem in Swifts Beach at 8:12 a.m. Just after 8:30, crews...

Wareham Fire extinguishes basement pellet stove fire

Wareham Fire extinguished a basement fire in East Wareham at about 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 25. At the scene, Captain Mickey Bird and the crew of Engine 1 found that a pellet stove had malfunctioned and started a small fire. The crews quickly extinguished...

Fire districts awarded safety grants

The Onset and Wareham fire departments have received more than $29,000 in funds through the state’s Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program. Onset Fire received $17,110 while Wareham Fire was granted $12,500. In Onset, the fire district will be...

Firefighters investigate smoke at Dunkin’ Donuts

Wareham Fire responded to reports of a possible fire at Dunkin’ Donuts in West Wareham Saturday, Jan. 15, fire officials reported on the department’s Facebook page. When firefighters arrived, they investigated smoke in the building. After an...

Hovan hearing will remain closed, justice rules

The hearing for Southcoast President and CEO Keith Hovan on a potential felony charge of possessing illegal firearm magazines will remain closed to the public, a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice has ruled. As a result of this ruling,...

Wareham company cited for wage violations

Editor’s note: This company is in fact located in Rochester, not West Wareham. A Rochester company and its owners have been cited more than $1.2 million in restitution and penalties over allegations that they did not pay prevailing...

Wareham Fire rescues man from 20-foot pit at Water Pollution Control Facility

A man was rescued from the bottom of a more-than-20-foot deep construction pit at the Water Pollution Control Facility by Wareham Fire early on Tuesday, January 11. At about 7:20 a.m., Wareham Fire was notified that a man had fallen and was at the...

Assistance dog on the way for Wareham’s school resource officer

The Wareham Police will soon have a new canine member — although rather than sniffing out illicit substances, the dog will be helping School Resource Officer Karl Baptiste in his daily work connecting with students. Baptiste has served as the town’s...

Wareham Fire District’s warrant, explained

Wareham Fire District residents are being asked to approve several financial articles at a Special Meeting on Jan. 13. Among them is a $32,000 labor settlement. Prudential Committee Chair George Barrett said that the settlement is related to the...

87-year-old wrong-way driver causes crash on Rte. 25 on Dec. 30

An 87-year-old New Bedford man was driving the wrong way on Rte. 25 on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 30, leading to a crash with another car on the highway at about 7:08 a.m. Both drivers needed to be extricated from their vehicles by Wareham Fire...

Wareham Police donate to Council on Aging after ‘Double Down December’

After raising $3,600 for Community Youth Empowerment during the annual “No Shave November” event, the Wareham Police Department gave its officers the chance to continue the event into December, as part of “Double Down December.” In November, a total...

Firefighters extinguish Amazon delivery van fire

An Amazon delivery van caught on fire at about 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16, on Timber Lane. Wareham Fire Department responded and, led by Capt. Mickey Bird with help from the crews from Engines 1 and 5, quickly extinguished the fire. A second...

Former accountant charged in connection with scheme to hide Wareham company’s taxable sales from state

A Wareham asphalt company’s former accountant, Christopher Polito, 37, of Dedham, was arraigned on Nov. 22 on multiple charges “in connection with a scheme to hide the company’s taxable sales by falsifying financial records with the state’s...