WESTFORD — At least six students from Westford have been displaced and lost all their belongings, Westford Remembers confirmed on Sunday, following a devastating fire at the Olympia Drive apartment complex in Amherst on Friday, which displaced 232 people and resulted in the demolition of the building.
Westford Remembers is now collecting funds to “provide students with a gift certificate to ease the burden of replacing their belongings,” the non-profit group announced in a statement released on their website and social media on Sunday.
Maddie Spound, a junior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was among the six students from Westford who lost their apartments in the fire. She said it was her first year living off-campus and her first college apartment.
Spound spoke with WestfordCAT and recalled when she first found out that her apartment was on fire.
“I was home sick for the week, ironically, so my roommate called me and asked where I was,” Spound said. “I said I was home and they said ‘oh, a huge fire alarm just went off, and we all just had to evacuate.’ So our building was evacuated, and very shortly after, our building broke out in fire”.
According to the Amherst Fire Department, firefighters first received a call about the fire at 57 Olympia Drive on Friday night.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they said the fire was quickly spreading throughout the building, due to the windy conditions.
Firefighters said officers from the Amherst Police Department and UMass Amherst Police Department worked to quickly evacuate residents inside the building, as the fire spread.
“It was all blocked off so none of us knew anything,” Spound said. “I was at home with no information, not knowing if our building was okay or not, so that was definitely really scary. I’m sure a lot of people also had pets in there, so that was definitely awful.”
Firefighters said the fire eventually reached three alarms, and two additional ladder trucks and more than a dozen tanker trucks were called to the scene to help support the initial response to the fire.
As the fire continued to rage on overnight into Saturday, firefighters said assets from Worcester County associated with the Statewide Fire Mobilization Plan and other local mutual aid partners were brought in.
Firefighters said they also received assistance from Amherst emergency dispatchers, the Amherst Public Works Department, Amherst Town Administration, Amherst Inspection Services, Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), and members of the community.
Additionally, firefighters said many off-duty personnel from both the fire department and the town assisted them in their efforts to extinguish the fire and help the displaced residents, which firefighters said was more “than any fire in department history”.
According to a statement released by UMass Amherst, the fire began off-campus at a construction site next to the Olympia Drive apartment complex, which the university said is privately-owned.
“Overnight, the fire spread to the apartment complex where a majority of the tenants are UMass Amherst students,” the statement said. “The university, the Town of Amherst, regional aid agencies, including MEMA, and the Olympia Drive management company are working to support students who are impacted. The university is grateful for the community’s support for our students. ”
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also released a statement about the fires on social media, which said “my heart goes out to the UMass Amherst students and residents impacted by last night’s off-campus fire. I’m thankful everyone is safe and have reached out to President (Marty) Meehan and Chancellor (Javier) Reyes to offer any support the state can provide.”
As the fire continued to burn throughout the day Saturday, the Town of Amherst asked all residents to immediately stop all non-essential water use in order to help conserve water for firefighting efforts.
The devastation and large number of displacements also prompted Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman to declare a state of emergency on Saturday
By Sunday night, Bockelman rescinded the state of emergency and town water reserves returned to normal.
Although the fire was mostly extinguished by Sunday night, the demolition of the building had already begun on Saturday, after firefighters determined that the building was no longer structurally sound.
Firefighters said they also began an investigation into what exactly caused the fire at the construction site, with the Massachusetts State Fire Marshall’s office and the Amherst Police Department joining firefighters at the scene on Monday to assist with the investigation.
“I think about all the sentimental items people bring to college to help with homesickness,” Spound said. “I’m an equestrian, so I brought all my really important ribbons and awards over the years, so I definitely thought about that, and all my jewelry, those sentimental things that you can’t get back, were definitely things that came to my mind first. I was a complete loss, everyone lost everything.”
Spound said she has not been back to the site of the apartment complex since it burned down. She said she now has resorted to commuting from Westford to Amherst for her classes, but also said UMass professors have been very accommodating, with many offering students to finish their classes remotely from home, as the students lost most of their school supplies in the fire.
UMass Amherst is encouraging members of the public to donate material goods, such as clothing, kitchenware and school supplies to affected students at New2U.
“People have set up a donation drive for snacks, sweaters, coats and shoes, which has been nice,” Spound said. “People have made care packages, like a tooth brush and other essential items. That’s come a bit more from the (Amherst) community, which has been nice, the community has been very supportive. UMass has allowed students free access to dining halls, at no charge for all the fire victims, but I think a lot of students are scrambling right now with housing. I think because it wasn’t a UMass property, that’s where a bit of issues are lying, but it was full of UMass students.”
Spound said she and many other tenants did not have renter’s insurance. She said the property managers of the Olympia Drive apartment complex guaranteed the tenants in their lease that they will all receive $750 in the event of a fire.
“Obviously that’s not nearly enough to replace the vast amount of items we had,” Spound said. “We are getting our security deposit and November rent back, but I know a lot of us are hoping for more out of this, as that is not enough to cover the basic necessities. Everything we lost, even though you can’t put a price on it, we are hoping that Olympia and UMass will step up and help us out financially. Most of us can’t afford to replace everything we owned.”
WestfordCAT asked Spound what she thinks is the best way the community can help support her and other students affected by the fire.
“Just being there for us,” Spound said. “We have a very nice community (in Westford). A bunch of old teachers and friends have all reached out to me. I’ve been in contact with all of them. Westford’s been great, it’s really nice to know I have a community of people who know what I’m going through.”
Westford Remembers is encouraging any residents with children who were displaced by the fire to reach out.
“This is the last thing that you think would happen, it was out of like a horror movie,” Spound said. “My heart goes out to all my fellow classmates, students and everyone who was involved in this fire. It’s devastating. (But) I’m glad we all have such a nice community. We can come back from this.”
Residents who wish to donate to Westford Remembers to help support the affected students, can send a Venmo payment to “westford-remembers” with the memo “UMass” or mail a check to PO box 869 Westford, Massachusetts.
