$5,000 reward offered for controversial holiday light display arson

WALTHAM, Mass. — In Waltham, fire officials are offering a $5,000 reward as they investigate an arson fire at a controversial holiday light display.

The Waltham Lions is sponsoring the Holiday Light Display on the site of the former Fernald School, a state hospital where developmentally disabled people were warehoused and abused for decades.

The Holiday Light Display has already attracted protests and an online petition to move the event.

Just before midnight Wednesday fire struck the Administration Building of the old Fernald School, three hours after the Holiday Light Display ended.

It took Waltham Fire Fighters about an hour to get it under control.

Authorities say the fire was intentionally set.

“There’s two different points of origin, and there was no power to the building,” Deputy Waltham Fire Chief Richard Grant told me. “We believe the fire is suspicious.”

The city bought the Fernald School campus in 2014, partly with the intention of building an onsite museum to remember and honor the people who suffered.

Advocates believe the Holiday Light Show does not come close to fulfilling Waltham’s intentions, as the Fernald School’s former buildings sit idle and decay.

“People know the Lions do good work. We’re not opposed to fundraising,” Chris Hoeh of the Greater Boston Chapter of the United Spinal Association told me. “We like lights, it’s just this location is wholly inappropriate.”

The Wednesday night fire did not affect the Holiday Light show on Thursday, as people lined up early to get inside.

But on November 28, according to a police report, wires for the Holiday Lights were discovered cut and bulbs loosened, just a half-hour before the event was set to begin.

A review of Waltham Police Reports reveals officers are frequently called to the site, all year round, for reports of vandalism.

Chris Hoeh tells me, advocates are condemning the act of arson on site.

“We want to preserve the site. We want the city to put its energy into following through the commitment it made when it bought the site,” Hoeh said.

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