UMass students scramble for housing after Amherst complex destroyed by fire
AMHERST — Hundreds of students displaced by this weekend's fire that destroyed a 72-unit apartment building have scattered, with some going back to their family homes, others crashing on friends' couches and some renting hotel rooms.
The 232 tenants, most of whom are University of Massachusetts students, also are scrambling to replace laptops, calculators and bookbags they desperately need to finish the second half of the semester. Most are also buying some of the most basic things burned in the fire, such as eyeglasses, medication, underwear and socks.
Lisa Morales said her son Thomas Sheffer, a history and political science major, has been struggling to find a place to stay since he called 911 on Friday.
His call might have been the first to the Fire Department, which received a report at 8:19 p.m. from someone saying the four-story building under construction next door was in flames .
"It looked like a manageable fire, and he went outside and never saw his stuff again," she said, explaining her son and his roommates took very little when they left.
Olympia Place, a dormitory building that used to house 230 students, is still smoldering midday Monday after a fire started Friday. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
The fire station is close, so it took less than five minutes for firefighters to respond. But by then, the building at 47 Olympia Drive was engulfed in flames and was so hot it was starting to spread to the apartment complex that was only some 15 feet away, said Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren.
Firefighters immediately activated the fire alarms at the Olympia Place apartments and, with the help of police, went door to door to evacuate the building. No one was injured in the blaze, but it destroyed both buildings, leaving 232 homeless.
"He is exhausted, exasperated and homeless," Morales said of her son. "It is next to impossible to find something for the rest of this term."
After staying with friends and his mother, who lives in Northampton, for the past three days, on Monday her son rented a hotel room so he could return to classes, she said.
"We have applied for the (Student Emergency Resource) Fund, but that is a one-time $500 grant. It will cover hotel costs for three days," she said.
At the same time, the managers of Olympia Place have agreed to return November rents to tenants — which is $5,400 for his four-bedroom apartment — but pro-rated since the fire took place on Nov. 7.
Luggage lays open on the ground at Olympia Place, which was struck by fire on Friday, leaving it destroyed. The apartment building housed 230 University of Massachusetts Amherst students. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
University support questioned, defended
She joined with other victims and their families who said they feel they haven't gotten much support from the university. Another UMass junior said the only assistance she received by Sunday was a list of landlords who might have vacancies.
Walker Borgmann, a junior who helped organize a massive donation drive on Saturday and Sunday for those displaced, said he too has heard a lot of complaints from students who feel they were left out in the cold with no help.
He connected with other student organizations Friday night, and they joined together to collect clothing and other supplies. They put out a call on social media, and by Saturday afternoon the tables they set up in the Student Union were piled high, and those displaced were stopping by to pick up necessities, he said.
Now, those goods are being distributed through the student thrift store New2U, with the fire victims able to take things they need for free. He is asking those who still want to help to give socks and underwear, backpacks, luggage and school supplies, including laptops, calculators, notebooks and pens.
Borgmann, who is majoring in animals and technology for emergency response and does search and rescue on the side, praised some university departments, including student legal services for helping those who lost difficult-to-replace paperwork, such as passports. But, he also has heard many complaints, especially from students seeking housing.
University of Massachusetts Amherst Assistant Campus Sustainability Manager Laurie Simmons sorts through clothing Monday that has been donated as a result of the fire at Olympia Place over the weekend, where 230 students lost their apartments. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
UMass officials said Monday that they provided emergency housing for students left homeless on Friday and are working with each victim individually since their needs are all different.
The apartment building is privately owned, but as soon as UMass staff heard most of the tenants were students, the university mobilized a team to find spots to house students overnight, said Jeffrey Hescock, executive director of environmental health and safety and emergency management at UMass.
"Our first thing when we realized 230 were our students was we got a list and sent out emails," said Emily Gest, a UMass spokeswoman.
They initially were told 36 students had no place to go and located housing in dorms for them. In the end, only four ended up staying, he said.
Store manager of New2U Eva Bergloff, right, and Bella Stenta sort through clothing that was donated to the thrift shop after the fire at Olympia Place that saw 230 students lose their housing. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
On Saturday, the university opened up a resource center and mobilized different college departments and the Salvation Army and Red Cross of Western Massachusetts to provide temporary housing and assist students with immediate needs, such as filling prescriptions and replacing backup glasses that were all lost in the fire. They also had mental health services available, he said.
"Two hundred students filled out intake forms, and the Dean of Students' (office) is contacting every student," he said.
While some of the victims were already on the meal plan, those who were not have been invited to eat for free at the dining commons, he said.
The center is now planning to hold resource fairs on Wednesday and Thursday. The university will have landlords there to help students find housing and will work one-on-one with students, since some might need technology help to replace computers. Others might need legal help — especially the dozens of international students who were tenants — to replace needed paperwork, Gest said.
"We are pleased by the donations to the Student Emergency Resource Fund. We have already received more than 1,600 gifts of more than $150,000," she said.
"They apply for help, and grants will be distribute by need on a case-by-case basis," Gest said, adding one student might need money to buy a new laptop and another might need help with a security deposit for a new apartment.
Massachusetts State Police fire investigators inspect the aftermath of a fire that consumed Olympia Place in Amherst midday Monday. The fire started on Friday evening and displaced 230 students, mostly from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Fire probe continues
While people are mobilizing to help students, the Amherst Fire Department remained on the scene for a fourth day, pouring water on spots that continued to flare up.
Over the weekend, the remains of the approximately 99,000-square-foot building had to be torn down for safety reasons and so firefighters could reach inaccessible parts in the back that were still ablaze, Stromgren said.
The fire remains under investigation by the Amherst Fire Department with assistance from State Police fire investigators and the state fire marshal's office. It is not considered suspicious, but because of the severity of the damage, it might take some time to determine the exact cause, said Jake Wark, state Department of Fire Services spokesman.
The building at 57 Olympia Drive was constructed in 2014 and is assessed at about $18 million. It did have a full sprinkler system, and inspection records will be part of the investigation, fire officials said.
Solomon Zweig and his three roommates from Olympia Place lucked out. On Monday, they already had signed a lease for a new apartment.
"I only grabbed my phone, wallet and car keys. I didn't expect it to get that bad," said Zweig, a junior majoring in physics. "We got out of the apartment very quickly, so everyone was fine."
They found their next apartment through word of mouth. Now, he is ordering a new computer on Amazon, and he and his roommates were going out to shop for clothing and other basics.
"For me, everything I lost can be easily replaced," he said.
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