AMHERST — Town Manager Paul Bockelman declared a state of emergency Saturday in response to a massive fire on Olympia Drive that destroyed a student apartment building, displaced approximately 232 residents, and forced firefighters to use over one million gallons of water to contain the blaze.
The declaration, issued to support ongoing firefighting operations and recovery, asks residents to stop all non-essential water use so the town can maintain an adequate supply for fire crews. Bockelman said the emergency order will also help Amherst access state or federal aid for displaced residents, the property owner, and the town.
“The state of emergency will ensure the town will have access to any emergency state or Federal funds that may be available to the displaced residents, property owner, and town,” Bockelman said.
Firefighters from Amherst and multiple mutual aid departments remained on scene for more than 24 hours after the fire was first reported at 8:18 p.m. Friday. The fire started in a building under construction at 47 Olympia Drive and spread to the occupied apartment building at 57 Olympia Drive, known as Olympia Place. That building has been deemed a total loss and is being demolished, town officials said.
No injuries were reported.
Preliminary estimates indicate 232 residents — most of them UMass Amherst students — were displaced from 57 Olympia Drive. Bockelman said the property owner has been “cooperative and highly responsive,” and that the University of Massachusetts Amherst is providing “assistance and support” to the displaced residents.
According to the town, the fire was originally reported at approximately 8:18 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, 2025, when callers to the town’s Emergency Communications Center (911), reported that the building under construction was on fire. The first arriving units from the Amherst Fire Department arrived on scene to find the building that was under construction at 47 Olympia Drive fully engulfed in flames, with the fire spreading to adjacent buildings.
When Amherst police arrived on scene, they assisted with evacuating the occupied building at 57 Olympia Drive.
“During the fire there were multiple explosions, likely from fuel tanks on the construction site, and there was at least one construction crane that collapsed,” Bockelman said in his emergency declaration.
A second and third alarm were struck, bringing in fire companies from Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester, and Franklin counties. Tanker trucks were also requested from numerous communities to help shuttle water to the scene.
Amherst’s police and fire departments, along with the town’s Department of Public Works division for water, wastewater and highways, and the Inspection Services Department, responded and remained on scene.
The Red Cross, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and the State Fire Marshal’s office, responded as well.
“A task force was requested from the state fire mobilization network to send additional units to the fire scene to relieve the crews that had been on scene since the fire was first reported,” Bockelman added.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
How the public can help, according to the town:
- Stay away from Olympia Drive and follow directions from emergency services
- Conserve water and stop non-essential water use so firefighters can continue operations
- To support displaced students, donate to the Student Care and Emergency Response Fund; officials are not requesting physical donations at this time
- Those able to offer temporary or longer-term housing can contact Amherst Innovative Living at 413-992-2000
- UMass is posting updates and resource links on its website for affected students at https://www.umass.edu/news/olympia-drive-fire-response