UMass Chancellor Reyes describes emergency response after Olympia Place fire
At 8:19 p.m. on Friday, November 7, 2025, the Amherst Fire Department responded to a call about a fire on a construction site of 47 Olympia Drive, which quickly spread to 57 Olympia Drive, also known as Olympia Place—a private apartment complex mainly housing UMass students.
No one was injured in the fire, but the building was deemed unsalvageable on Saturday morning. UMass made a statement that all 232 displaced Olympia Place residents would have “immediate access to all dining commons at no cost, and an on-campus emergency resource center will be open to centralize student needs.”
I spoke with the Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Javier Reyes, age 50, about the fire and UMass’s response to it.
Maddie Misra: How many students live in off-campus housing?
Javier Reyes: Approximately 9,000 students live off-campus in Amherst and the surrounding area.
Maddie Misra: Where are the students living who were displaced by the fire?
Javier Reyes: The 230 students affected by the fire have chosen a number of different options, from choosing to stay with friends, securing housing in other area properties or on campus, or with current renters looking for roommates. Our Off-Campus Housing Office has worked to ensure that all impacted students were able to connect with landlords of properties with immediate availability. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, about two dozen students shared that they did not have available housing; they were all offered on-campus accommodations.
Maddie Misra: How much money was raised to support students?
Javier Reyes: The Student Care and Emergency Response Fund (SCERF), administered by the Dean of Students Office, provides emergency micro-grants to students facing unexpected financial emergencies. The Dean of Students Office suspended the standard micro-grant process and removed the $500 limit to support those impacted by the fire. Thanks to an extraordinary outpouring of generosity from our community, the Dean of Students Office distributed $310,500 via micro-grant awards of $1,350 to each student. These grants do not need to be repaid.
Maddie Misra: Who exactly is working to help the students, and what are they doing to help them?
Javier Reyes: The Office of Emergency Management and the Dean of Students Office coordinated the campus response to support affected students. Five coordination groups—Basic Needs, Academic Support, Student Support & Wellbeing, Donations, and Communications—were established under the umbrella of the Emergency Resource Center (ERC), bringing together campus and community representatives to help students access necessary resources.
Maddie Misra: How are the students otherwise being supported?
Javier Reyes: In the immediate aftermath of the fire, each impacted student received daily communication from the Dean of Students Office with updates and information, including through scheduled one-on-one meetings with university staff to assess and respond to immediate, short-term, and long-term needs. The students continue to be supported in many ways by the campus community.
In addition to addressing essential needs such as food, housing, transportation, and healthcare, the ERC teams also helped students obtain temporary laptops and phones along with replacement student identification, course materials, legal documents, and other critical items potentially lost in the fire. UMass Amherst Information Technology provided loaner laptops for students who lost devices in the fire and made temporary smartphones available to those who needed them.
With the support of 116 volunteers, the university coordinated the pickup, sorting, and distribution of these materials through New2U, the campus thrift store. Every Olympia Place resident has been given unlimited access to clothing and toiletries at no charge, along with a voucher for household items; to date, more than 350 items have been picked up by Olympia residents.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, Olympia Place residents received access to dining halls at no charge. Dining Services has now extended access to campus dining halls at no charge to Olympia Place residents through the end of the semester. Dining Services will ensure that each resident has at least 100 meal swipes – more than necessary for three meals per day. Dining is monitoring accounts to ensure students maintain access.
Both the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services responded to Olympia Drive within hours of the fire starting. Beyond offering direct financial support and emergency care needs through the resource centers, staff and volunteers from both organizations have provided emotional and spiritual care, connection to their vast support networks, and more to both first responders and affected students.
From new clothing to free use of a local laundromat, businesses and organizations from the region have also donated their services, goods, and time to help our students recover from the losses they incurred.
In addition to addressing essential needs such as food, housing, transportation, and healthcare, the ERC teams also helped students obtain course materials, legal documents, and other critical items potentially lost in the fire.
Olympia Place residents were also given priority access to counseling and support services at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH). Other partners included UCard, the Office of Global Affairs for International Students, and, at the state level, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. We put together a website for our community to see how we were helping students. It’s:
