Following Massive Blaze, Amherst, MA, Firefighters Call for Staffing Boost
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AMHERST — A weekend fire that quickly burned one building to the ground and destroyed a second 72-apartment complex has reignited the long-debated concerns of understaffing at the town’s fire department.
The firefighters’ union is calling on the community to boost the Fire Department staff by at least 18 people to bring it in line with average personnel levels for a community the size and complexity of Amherst.
“This incident serves as a critical warning, as our town includes numerous high-occupancy structures housing vulnerable residents with complex mobility and health needs,” Sarah Forsaith, president of Amherst Firefighters Local 176, wrote in a letter to the community posted on social media.
The fire was first reported at 8:19 p.m., Friday, in a building under construction at 47 Olympia Drive. Firefighters arrived within 5 minutes of the initial call to find the building engulfed in flames and quickly spreading to 57 Olympia Drive, which was about 15 feet away, Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren said.
Firefighters immediately activated the fire alarm in that building and police and firefighters went door-to-door to make sure no one was inside.
There were no injuries in the blaze but 232 people, mostly University of Massachusetts students, have been displaced. Several pets are believed to have died as well.
When the call was made, one engine with four “career-firefighters” was the only one available to respond. A second engine was working at a call at Hampshire College across town and three firefighters were assisting an ambulance transporting a critically-ill patient to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Forsaith said in the letter.
“While Local 1764 is profoundly grateful to report that no human life was lost, we must recognize that this favorable outcome was largely due to the residents of Olympia Place being able to self-evacuate,” she said.
She added the National Fire Protection Association recommends a minimum of 28 firefighters respond initially to a fire of that size.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the town taxpayers invested more than $2 million to purchase two new fire trucks and added four additional firefighter positions in fiscal year 2023.
“Public safety remains one of the town’s highest priorities, and recent investments reflect this commitment, he said in writing.
But the town also continues to face budget constraints and one of those new firefighter positions was among five jobs left unfilled this year, Brockelman said.
“The town is currently conducting an after-action analysis of this incident. During the upcoming budget process, we will also review staffing levels to ensure they support the day-to-day operations of our town departments as they work to keep our community safe,” Brockelman said.
Almost immediately after firefighters arrived at Olympia Place they sounded more alarms, summoning assistance from surrounding communities under the mutual aid agreements. Firefighters from five neighboring communities responded quickly as did a State Fire Marshal’s Special Operations team, officials said.
More than 60 firefighters from 15 communities worked at the blaze from Friday night through Saturday. On Saturday night, those crews were relieved by a state task force which brought in about 20 firefighters from multiple Worcester County towns including Dudley, Spencer and Sturbridge, Stromgren said.
Fire crews also struggled to pump enough water through a relatively small main that led to the complex, so about 20 tanker trucks from a dozen different fire departments ferried in additional water. More than 1 million gallons was used to extinguish the blaze, he said.
The fire continued burning through Sunday and Monday, so crews from Amherst stayed on the scene extinguishing flames that rekindled. The remains of the second building were demolished Sunday for safety reasons and so firefighters could reach flames that were inaccessible.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation Thursday by the Amherst Fire Department and State Police assigned to the Fire Marshal’s Office. It is not considered suspicious, said Jake Wark, spokesman for the state Department of Fire Services.
Stromgren and Brockelman praised and thanked Amherst firefighters as well as the many who assisted from surrounding communities.
“We are grateful to each fire department and community who contributed to this massive response — an effort no single community in our region could undertake alone,” Brockelman said.
But Forsaith said relying on mutual aid time and time again is a poor solution.
“Amherst’s frequent need to deplete neighboring communities of their public safety personnel to manage incidents that the Amherst Fire Department should be able to handle is unsustainable and places unnecessary stress on the entire regional system,” she said.
The complaint about a lack of staffing dates back more than a decade. In 2016 Fire Chief Tim Nelson, who retired about a year ago, applied for a $1 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to boost firefighting ranks, saying he had exhausted all other avenues after several years of urging the town to expand the Fire Department.
At the time, the town hired a consultant to conduct a firefighter staffing needs assessment. That study recommended at least two more people be hired to run an additional ambulance or four firefighters, who are also certified as paramedics, be hired.
As the department continues to debate staffing, the university held a second resource fair Thursday to give one-on-one assistance to students who are seeking help with housing, replacing belongings and facing other issues.
People have been donating clothing, school supplies and money to the University’s Student Emergency Resource Fund. While most did not have renters’ insurance, some parents may be able to apply for relief through their homeowners’ insurance.
“Those impacted should speak to their insurance agent or carrier to determine if they have coverage,” said Nick Fyntrilakis, president and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents.
He said there are many caveats to the coverage of students who are living away at college.
In most cases, the definition of insured includes a full-time student who lived in the household before leaving for college but they must be under 24 and a relative of the named insured or under 21 and in the care of the person on the policy, he said.
The coverage varies and is usually limited to 10% of the parents’ coverage for contents. Most do not cover temporary housing for those displaced, he said.
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