AMHERST — A large pile of smoldering rubble and debris, which had once been Olympia Place apartments, an $18.5 million development housing 230 people, continued to be doused with water by Amherst firefighters throughout the day on Monday.
Using about 1,000 gallons of water a minute, this work aimed to ensure there would be no flare-ups at the site of what will go down as one of the most destructive fires in the town’s history, with an investigation ongoing into the exact cause, said Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren.
What is known is that the fire began Friday around 8:19 p.m. on a neighboring property at 47 Olympia Drive, where a similar residential apartment building has been under construction in recent months.
Olympia Place opened at 57 Olympia Drive in fall 2016, used wood construction techniques, compliant with state building code, a method in which the main structure is wood and with attached wood sheathing panels containing doors and windows. This can make the building susceptible to fire in a way the far more expensive steel is not, Stromgren said.
Stromgren said the new building was rising quickly, with the panels being attached as it rose.
“It’s sort of like putting together a Lego set,” Stromgren said.
The new building, though, was just 37 feet away and once the blaze began it compromised the brick and metal sheathing on Olympia Place, allowing the heat the penetrate the building.
“It was a massive amount of fire load burning,” Stromgren said.
Once the occupied building caught on fire and was fully involved, the tenants, almost all University of Massachusetts students along with live-in on-site managers, had to evacuate.
Stromgren said firefighters initially attempted to combat the blaze from within, but the structure quickly became too unstable. “As they got to the fifth floor they weren’t getting any water pressure from the hoses,” he said.
The town’s water department did what it could to boost the water pressure, but Stromgren said the water tower, located behind Village Park apartments, is on the same level, making it difficult to get any more pressure in the 8-foot main.
After losing water pressure, the firefighters inside abandoned the interior attack, and got out as floors began to collapse. With conditions too dangerous for anyone to enter, including firefighters, the decision was made to take down the entire structure.
The call was made to Associated Building Wreckers from Springfield, who remained on scene until Saturday at 11 p.m., with its work curtailed as smoke from the still-burning building made ongoing the scene too difficult and dangerous. Firefighters continued to pour water on the buildings throughout Saturday night.
They also used a tanker shuttle where 12 tanker trucks continually brought water to the scene for the ladder truckers to use.
The building was fully sprinklered but these are less robust than commercial or industrial sprinklers.
“The sprinklers are not ever charged to being designed to handle this kind of fire,” Stromgren said.
There were also no sprinklers in the cockloft, or attic space, and once there the fire spread across with no fire walls to stop the flames.
Stromgren also said there were plenty of fire hydrants, but all draw from the same water main. An attempt was made to hook into the water main at Village Park, as well.
The extensive use of water prompted the town to issue a state of emergency that was in effect for much of the weekend, but rescinded Sunday at 5 p.m., as the town’s water reserves returned to normal. It’s uncertain how much water was used, but likely in the neighborhood of 2 million gallons.
No occupants or firefighters were injured, but some pets are believed to have perished in the fire, even as others were rescued.
On Sunday morning, demolition resumed and continued through the day.
No residents were able to reenter the building to get belongings due to the danger.
“There was nothing to retrieve. This building was so heavily damaged, floors had collapsed, it was unsafe for anyone to be inside,” Stromngren said.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said a debriefing among all town departments and staff was scheduled for Monday afternoon, analyzing whether a different approach could have been used.
He said this will also tally the equipment lost, the costs of the operation and other related expenses, such as a construction company which lost two cranes.
Bockelman said the town recognizes the loss and the emotional impact this event has on those who lived there.
“No community can ever be prepared for this level of emergency,” Bockelman said, thanking firefighters, police officers, the Department of Public Work and the Inspection Services Department.
“We also sincerely thank all the partners who came to assist, including communities in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, Worcester, and Berkshire counties,” Bockelman said. “Their dedication, cooperation, and swift response were vital in managing this challenging situation.”
He praised the support and offers of assistance from U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and state Sen. Jo Comerford and state Rep. Mindy Domb, and the Task Force from the State Fire Mobilization Network, the Red Cross, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Others receiving credit include UMass for working with displaced students to support their needs including housing, food, medical supplies, legal documents and replacing lost belongings, and property owner Archipelago Investments LLC for immediately complying and arranging for demolition to begin, and Amherst Innovative Living, which manages the property.
UMass President Marty Meehan also spoke about the situation.
“I’m deeply appreciative to Chancellor (Javier) 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,” Meehan said.
For Amherst, the building loss will put in a dent in town finances, as it will likely have to abate a significant portion of the $500,000 or so in property taxes.
In the time Stromgren has been with the department, starting on the student force in the 1980s, the only comparable fire was the one that leveled the Amherst College gymnasium in March 1985, a $2 million structure.
But while similar in physical size, with smoke seen from miles around, that was not the home for so many people.
“This has much more impact on the community,” Stromgren said.