A state of emergency was declared in Amherst this weekend following the massive fire that destroyed a building housing more than 200 UMass-Amherst students.
The declaration, which ensures the town has access to any emergency state or federal funds that may be available, was made due to the apartment complex blaze on Olympia Drive, where firefighters remained at the scene more than 24 hours after flames first broke out around 8:15 p.m. Friday.
Amherst Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren says the fire started in a four-story building that was under construction. Within 30 minutes, it collapsed and spread to other buildings.
“This is actually the biggest fire in Amherst I can think of since the mid-80s,” Stromgren said. “We tried for about an hour to fight it from the inside but we had some water supply challenges, and it just got up into the attic and ran the length of the building.”
The flames continued to burn for more than 24 hours as more than a dozen fire departments from multiple towns from Hampshire, Hamden and Franklin counties worked tirelessly. Firefighters were expected to be on scene through the day Sunday.
Fire officials said there were multiple explosions during the fire, likely from fuel tanks on the construction site, and there was one construction crane that collapsed. Water supply was an issue, fire officials added, and tanker trucks were also requested from numerous communities to help.
Town officials urged residents Saturday to stop all non-essential water use to help conserve water for firefighting operations, as over one million gallons of water had already been used so far. Amherst’s town manager rescinded the state of emergency at 5 p.m. Sunday, saying residents could resume regular water use after the town’s water reserves had returned to normal.
No injures have been reported, thankfully. The damage, however, was extensive. The building that was under construction — at 47 Olympic Drive — collapsed, and the residential apartment building — at 57 Olympia Drive — was deemed a total loss, and was being demolished.
WGBX-TV NBC 10 Boston
