Blotter: Car Fire, Stolen Soup and Purse

Millburn firefighters put out a car fire on Oakdale Road on Friday, after a car with a faulty headlight started smoking then burst into flames in the driveway.

The owners had taken their 2004 BMW convertible to an auto repair shop to fix the headlight, but were told that it was a complicated repair job, it could not be done on Friday and they should bring it back.

Police reported that the owner of the vehicle, Derek Hicks, drove the car home but detected an odor but could not determine what it was. He parked the car in the driveway of his home and went inside.

Moments later, his wife, Marcia, noticed smoke coming from the engine and then noticed flames emerging from the engine area as well, soon engulfing the engine in fire.

The Hicks called the Millburn Fire Department, which put out the fire and is investigating the cause of the fire, which began in the area of the engine near the headlight.

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Millburn police also responded to and investigated a theft on Eliot Place in Short Hills after the homeowner reported that a large package of soup delivered by UPS and left on the front steps of his house was taken sometime between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Friday. A canvass of the neighborhood revealed no suspects.

Police also investigated the theft of a Burberry purse from the women’s fitting room inside Bloomingdale’s at The Mall at Short Hills on Friday. The owner of the purse left it in the fitting room while she walked out for a short time. When she returned, she noticed the purse was gone. The theft occurred between 6 p.m. and 6:11 p.m. on Friday.