AMHERST, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Our coverage on the major fire in Amherst continues with a look at how displaced UMass students are feeling the impact.
An unprecedented sight catching the eyes of UMass Amherst students and others on Saturday. Several people went to watch construction equipment rip apart the Olympia Place apartment complex. At least 230 people, mostly UMass students, displaced and trying to figure out what to do next.
“I kind of need my passport, so that’s why I asked them (if we could go inside). But they were like ‘I don’t think we can do that because we’re going to demolish the whole place down,’” Ibrahim Zaheer is a junior from Pakistan and lived on the first floor of Olympia Place.
Firefighters ruled that the complex was unsafe. Demolition beginning immediately. The huge three-alarm fire raged through a neighboring four-story building under construction Friday night. Flames gushed through equipment and flammable material. The fire eventually made its way to Olympia Place.
Zaheer was among the many who were inside at the time, “I thought it was like a small fire alarm as they do as like someone burned pizza, something like that. And I go out, and I see these huge flames. As it spread, it spread more and more and more and more, and then we had to evacuate.”
On Saturday, our crew witnessed leftover flames where the fire originated, as well as mini fires on the roof of Olympia Place. One UMass undergraduate student, who asked not to be named, said her boyfriend lived in the complex and was away.
She was astonished by the aftermath, “I was on the campus at the time. I went outside, and I saw a section of the sky (that) was just orange. He (my boyfriend) is pretty distraught because this is the second time in his life where a place he’s lived has burned down. Not like, oh, clothes you can replace or like gaming systems you can buy again. The sentimental things, you can never get back, especially at such a young age.”
She told Western Mass News she is going to help her boyfriend as much as she can when he returns to campus. she applauded how the campus community has responded and says this is a good opportunity for everyone to come together.
As for Zaheer, he praised the response from his fellow students, “I saw everyone reaching out, people that I was like ‘I don’t even know you.’ They’re like, ‘Let me help you guys.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s so beautiful.’ Us students can create this beautiful community and help out others.”
The good news out of all of this is no injuries and fatalities have been reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. A GoFundMe was started to help the student affected by the fire, if you would like to contribute, you can head to the website.
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