Police, Fire & Courts

Former Wareham selectman arrested on child assault charges

Former Wareham Select Board member James Potter was arrested by Bourne Police on Thursday, Aug. 11 on multiple charges, including a count of child rape, according to Bourne police. Bourne police confirmed on Tuesday that Potter, 44, was arrested on...

Trailer erupts into flames early Monday morning

A trailer caught fire on Marion Road earlier this morning, which Wareham fire officials dealt with before the flames extended to nearby residences. Fifteen firefighters battled the fire, which fully engulfed the camper, around 3:15 a.m. on Monday...
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Wareham, Onset fire departments battle mobile home blaze

As smoke rose into the air, a fire burned the inside of a residence at the Great Hill Estates mobile home park Thursday afternoon. Neighbors gathered in the street along Windswept Road to watch as Wareham and Onset firefighters battled the blaze at...

Firefighter taken to hospital after battling Wareham blaze

A fire late Sunday night sent one firefighter to the hospital, according to fire officials, and the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. The Wareham Fire Department responded to a fire at 11:10 p.m. on Sunday at a residence on Longmeadow...

Woman files lawsuit after alleged incident at Wareham Stop & Shop

A Plymouth County woman has filed a civil lawsuit against two people and their company after they allegedly yelled racist slurs and threatened to run her over in the Wareham Stop & Shop parking lot, a complaint filed on Thursday reads. The...

Car-motorcycle crash reported on Glen Charlie Road

A crash on Glen Charlie Road Saturday afternoon left at least one person seriously injured and medflighted to the hospital, a Wareham official confirmed Sunday afternoon. A car and motorcycle reportedly collided Saturday. The crash happened at the...

Wareham police looking for armed robbery suspect

Wareham police are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a man who reportedly robbed the Old Navy at Wareham Crossing on Thursday night, police say. Officers responded to the store a reported armed robbery around 8:50 p.m. on Thursday,...

Main St. partially closed as crews fix gas leak at Tobey Hospital

Traffic was blocked from the section of Main Street roughly between the Narrows Bridge and Cumberland Farms at 3 pm Wednesday while crews worked to repair a gas leak. Wareham Fire and National Grid crews appeared to be making repairs near the end of...

Car towed from the bay near Onset Pier

A man’s car came to a rest in the water off Onset Pier just after 10:30 p.m. on Friday night, necessitating his rescue and a complex tow operation. Wareham Police and Onset Fire responded to the pier, where one police officer entered the water to...

Wareham Natural Resources officer graduates police academy

Wareham Natural Resources Officer Morgan Mattioli graduated from the Cape Cod Municipal Police Full-Time Academy on July 15. The Wareham Department of Natural Resources posted details about Mattioli’s graduation, held at Joint Base Cape Cod, on its...

Police confiscate three firearms after raucous Onset party

Wareham Police responded to a raucous party at a home on East Central Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. on Friday night, confiscated several firearms and arrested one young woman. According to police logs, more than thirty people were present — many of...

Sea wall replacement underway behind Wareham Fire Department

Have you seen the big pit behind the Wareham Fire Department recently? Come September’s end, residents will find a new sea wall wrapping around the fire department’s property, assistant chief Patrick Haskell said. “The wall actually surrounds the...

Car careens down 30-foot embankment in Onset, injures 5

Five people were taken to hospitals across the South Coast after their car hit a tree and went down a 30-foot embankment near 181 Onset Avenue around 5 a.m. on Friday. Wareham EMS Director David Evans arrived first, according to an Onset Fire...

Lightning strikes home in Swifts Beach; no injuries reported

Lightning struck at least one home on John Street in Swifts Beach earlier this evening, a fire official said Thursday night. The Wareham Fire Department responded to reports of one house – with the possibility of a second – being struck by lightning...

Town officials, bystanders rescue person after boating accident

Several town agencies, along with nearby boaters and bystanders, helped rescue a boater who fell overboard and was reportedly struck by their vessel on Sunday. The Wareham Department of Natural Resources, police department, EMS and fire department...

Wareham, Onset fire departments help in regional response to Middleboro fire

A late night fire in Middleboro saw a massive response from several nearby fire agencies, including those from Wareham and Onset, and took most of the night to extinguish. Fire departments first responded to the fire just up I-495 at 481 Wareham St...

Fire department puts out train car fire

Firefighters put out a flaming train car on Freight House Road on Tuesday night. Wareham Fire Department Engines 4 and 5 and Squad 2 responded to the scene of the fire, according to a fire Department Facebook post. The firefighters quickly...

Residents urged to ID their kayaks, boats

Every year, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources runs into the same problem, harbormaster Garry Buckminster said: errant canoes or kayaks floating around, sans identification. “Put your identification on it,” Buckminster urged residents. When...

Missing woman found after search by land, air and water

A 61-year-old missing woman came home of her own accord after several hours of exhaustive searching by first responders from across south-east Massachusetts. The search centered around Marks Cove, and included searches by land, by air — courtesy...

Wareham mother says police racially profiled her son

Jody Santagate wants people to know that she loves Wareham, that she has great respect for law enforcement and that members of her family have served in the force. But the way her youngest son was treated when he was stopped by Wareham police on...

Wareham Fire helps clean up fuel spill

The Fivestar Gateway Gas Station was the site of an accidental fuel spill on Thursday. Wareham Fire, led by Captain Mark Rogers, responded to the Cranberry Highway business where they saw a truck off-loading fuel had accidentally spilled some. The...

Marion, Wareham men hurt in utility vehicle accident

A Marion man and his passenger from West Wareham suffered minor injuries Saturday, June 4 in a utility vehicle rollover accident in New Hampshire, the state’s Fish and Game Department reported. Matthew Dessert, 36, of Marion was operating a utility-...

Nine Wareham firefighters graduate from academy

Nine Wareham Recruit Firefighters have graduated from the Massachusetts Call/Volunteer Firefighter Training Program. The firefighters have completed 240 hours of training and graduated Monday night in a ceremony at Bridgewater State University...

Wareham Police Association donates bike, awards ‘outstanding citizen’

The Wareham Police Association recently awarded an “Outstanding Citizen Award” to one resident and also donated a bike to a girl who was recently hit while riding hers. Resident Geoffrey Worrell was awarded a plaque for “his donations and personal...

Wareham EMS counted among honorees by Southcoast Health

Wareham’s EMS department is one of 36 recipients of Southcoast Health’s annual Hero for Health Awards, the not-for-profit health system announced on Friday. Southcoast Health named three dozen municipal departments that provide emergency services...

Onset Fire District voters elect five

The Onset Fire District had its annual election Tuesday, and 117 voters showed up at the VFW between 4 and 8 p.m. to take part. Election Warden Mary Ann Silva said that was an excellent turnout, especially compared to last year’s dismal total of 34...

Child struck by car while riding bike

According to scanner traffic, a child riding her bike was struck by a woman driving a white Honda Civic in the Woods at Wareham plaza. Following the accident, which took place at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the child was alert. She was transported to...

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...

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...