A massive apartment complex fire displaced more than 200 Amherst residents this weekend, leaving a major cleanup job and the community reeling.

The fire at the Olympia Place apartment complex was first reported via 911 calls Friday evening. Originating at an under-construction building on fire at 47 Olympia Dr., the fire quickly spread to the nearby 57 Olympia Dr. building due to proximity, intensity and wind. Both buildings have been deemed a total loss, and demolition to aid in the fire attack was expected to be completed this weekend.

“The building is still burning,” Amherst Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgen told the Herald Sunday morning. “We can’t fully extinguish this because of its size and in fact, we can’t get to the far side – you can see it’s the woods. The only way we can actually put all of the fire out is to tear it down.”

No injuries were reported in the massive blaze that has displaced around 230 residents, mostly UMass Amherst students, from the complex.

The State Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire, along with the Amherst Fire Department and Amherst Police Department; however, “the fire is not suspicious in nature,” according to the AFD.

Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman issued a state of emergency Saturday, urging residents to halt non-essential water use to conserve water for fire fighting.

Stromgen anticipated that the state of emergency would be lifted soon as the fire department’s water needs had lessened.

University resources and response

UMass Amherst has compiled a page for updates and resources at the link here, including food aid, basic needs, counseling, financial assistance and donation information. The university said some students have been placed in temporary, on-campus residences.

“While we are incredibly relieved that no one has been injured, the Friday night fire at the Olympia Drive Apartment complex has had a significant impact on the more than 220 affected students who were displaced and lost their personal effects. In recognition of that, I ask all members of the UMass community to keep these students in their thoughts and to consider supporting them directly during this difficult time,” UMass President Marty Meehan said in a statement.

Meehan said encouraged community members to support the Foundation Student Care and Emergency Response Fund at https://minutefund.uma-foundation.org/project/20457.

The university also announced that a resource center has been set up on campus for affected students, and displaced residents could use dining halls for free.

“I’m deeply appreciative to Chancellor Reyes for his leadership, and thankful for all first responders, the town of Amherst, and so many others who have gone above and beyond to support our affected students and community throughout this weekend. I also wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Governor Healey, whose consistent outreach, engagement, and partnership throughout the weekend have been an invaluable source of support to our students and the university community,” Meehan said.

Fire details and timeline

The first 911 calls came around 8:19 p.m. Friday, reporting that an under-construction building at 47 Olympia Dr. was on fire. Upon arrival, units found the fire had spread to nearby buildings.

The Amherst fire chief confirmed explosions at the construction site, likely from fuel tanks and other construction equipment. A crane also collapsed.

A second and third alarm were sounded, with fire crews from across Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire counties assisting at the scene.

The construction site held a four-story building in the framing stage – “wood with windows” but no exterior or sprinkler system, as Stromgen described. It burned to the ground in about half an hour, according to Stromgren, and was situated about 15 feet from the 57 Olympia Dr. apartment building.

57 Olympia Dr. did have a sprinkler system, but Stromgen said those systems are designed to put out fires more akin to trash fires than full-blown building blazes like the one that occurred here.

On Saturday afternoon, crews began demolition on 57 Olympia Dr. while the fire remained.

“The reason that demolition is done so quickly is because the building is unstable. … There’s no way to put firefighters inside, let alone let occupants go in and get their belongings. This is totally, completely unsafe for anybody in the building,” Stromgen said.

Remnants of the torn down building were still smoking Sunday morning as crews worked to fully extinguish the blaze. The fire chief said fires had popped up in the still-standing units of the building sporadically. The entirety of the building would be torn down by Sunday afternoon, Stromgen said.

The fire chief hoped that the demolition and extinguishment would be completed by Monday morning, with next steps to be turned over to the building owners.