Town Manager Rescinds State of Emergency

3 thoughts on “Town Manager Rescinds State of Emergency”

1. I’m glad that the State of Emergency has been rescinded. Of course, it must still be very much in effect for the 230+ displaced students, who must be still in shock and in crisis. In the immediate aftermath of this terrible fire, the primary concerns should be for their safety, well-being, and rehousing. I can’t imagine how they can possibly complete their studies for the semester under the current conditions. My heart goes out to them all, and to the emergency personnel who have been working round the clock since this nightmare began, and I’m relieved and thankful that there was no loss of human life. But there are so many outstanding questions that I sincerely hope will be answered in the coming days and weeks. Perhaps Indy readers can respond to some of the first that come to mind:
   —Who is conducting the investigation into the cause(s) of the fire? Following the May 2025 fire in 69 South Pleasant Street that displaced 24 people, we were told that an investigation was ongoing, but to my knowledge neither we the townspeople nor the former tenants themselves have been informed of the results. How can we be sure that the investigation into the conflagration at 47 and 57 Olympia Drive will be thorough and impartial?
   —Why is the Red Cross in charge of re-housing the students and not the owners of the building, Archipelago Investments, in conjunction with their management company, Amherst Innovative Living? Their names have hardly been mentioned in the news coverage and official press statements. Do they not bear the ultimate responsibility here? Who will pay for the rehousing and when will the management company return the tenants’ November rents and security deposits?
   —What responsibility does UMass Amherst bear for the displaced students, for whom they could not provide on-campus housing? And will the Town of Amherst have to bear all the expenses for the emergency services and water usage?
   —Going forward, this disaster should force us all to rethink future plans for high-density, increased height, reduced parking construction projects in town. How will we–the townspeople, our elected officials, and the town government respond to the proposals in the works for more of the same?

2. Josna raises some very important issues about financial liability of the landlords to the tenants. These issues should be addressed with better-than-all-deliberate speed, and in the immediate aftermath of the fire, one imagines the Red Cross might even be willing to accept donations from the landlords.

   Missing in all the messaging about students as victims of the fire: some of the first responders on the scene were students themselves! Indeed, one of my students this fall emailed to say he was OK, but exhausted after being on-duty for over 24 hours straight, fighting the fire. Yet he was back to class yesterday — now that’s duty!

3. Yay Rob for enlightening people about this! I am so tired of the lack of awareness too many Amherst residents have regarding so much they take for granted.
   Aside from the (huge) physical and emotional toll on those directly involved in fighting the fire (and that of all the related, but required, town personnel), how many people actually realize the impact to their homes/lives a huge volume of water used to fight these fires (or to fill the geo thermal tanks at UMass), and the resulting decrease in water pressure, impacts the firefighters. Why a fifth floor that is set above the water tower near it? And why, in goddesses’ name, is the new fire station, to better accommodate modern firefighting/ems service, in the queue for over 20 years, not yet built? Perhaps UMass should cover the cost of it since AFD services its campus 24/7 and accounts for many of the calls for students living off-campus. Time for the dog to wag the tail, heh?

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