Updates on Olympia Place Fire and On-Campus Emergency Resource Center

The Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life sent the following message to the UMass community on Saturday, Nov. 8.

To the UMass community,

Last night, a large fire affected multiple buildings at Olympia Place, a private, off-campus apartment complex on Olympia Drive housing a significant number of UMass students. The fire was first reported just after 8 p.m. and, as of this morning, multiple fire departments from the region continue to respond.

We are grateful that, as of now, no injuries have been reported. We are especially thankful for the support of the Red Cross and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) who are joining UMass in coordinating immediate assistance for the 200+ displaced residents, the majority of whom are UMass students. A small number of students unable to find emergency housing have been placed in temporary, on-campus residences.

Multiple UMass teams, from public safety to facilities and emergency operations, have been on scene since the fire was first reported. The university's Emergency Operations Center was activated shortly after the fire began remains active to coordinate a response.

Immediate Emergency Resources

While the longer-term effects of this fire are unclear, staff from Student Affairs and Campus Life (SACL) are in the process of identifying and contacting those most directly affected by the fire to provide support on a case-by-case basis.

Olympia Place residents have immediate access to all dining commons at no cost, and an on-campus emergency resource center will be opened at noon today to centralize critical student needs including housing, medication, clothing, academic accommodations, counseling, and more.

Student residents of Olympia Place will be contacted directly this morning with the location of the emergency resource center; we ask that only residents of Olympia Place use this space out of respect for the needs of those most directly affected.

Public updates and resident resources will be added to https://www.umass.edu/news/olympia-drive-fire-response throughout the coming days and weeks.

The university is grateful for the support of the multiple agencies that have responded to this tragedy, especially those first responders from the surrounding communities who answered mutual aid calls.