Fire on UMass Campus Requires Evacuation of McNamara Hall

Source: Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren

The Amherst Fire Department responded to call via 911 from a passerby, reporting smoke coming from the fourth-floor window of the  McNamara Residence Hall, on the UMass Amherst Campus, at 8:02 p.m. on Wedensday, May 14, 2025. McNamara is located on Eastman Lane, in what is known as the Sylvan Residential area. A box alarm was sounded for all on and off-duty Amherst firefighters. First arriving crews encountered moderate smoke on the fourth floor and found a small fire burning in one of the dormitory rooms. The fire was quickly  extinguished. Crews spent the next hour ventilating the building and conducting an investigation. There were no injuries to residents or firefighters. 

The fire involved a trash can which spread to a bed. Damage was confined to the one dormitory room, which is part of a multi-room suite. The entire building was evacuated during the fire. Most residents except for those residing n the fourth floor were allowed to return after about half an hour. The remaining residents except for those from the fire room were allowed to return after about one hour. The fire room is not habitable at this time. 

Fire investigators from the Amherst Fire Department, UMass Police Department, and the State Fire Marshall’s Office, determined that the likely cause of the fire was careless disposal of smoking materials. Note that smoking of any type is prohibited on the UMass Campus. Further investigation found that the smoke detector in the fire room had been covered by plastic which  rendered it inoperable during the fire and delayed the detection of the fire and evacuation of the  building. The fire alarm was ultimately activated by a resident who saw smoke in the hallway and  pulled the fire alarm. The student who resides in the room where the fire started will be charged with a criminal complaint for tampering with a fire alarm (covered smoke detector) and will face UMass charges under the Student Code of Conduct.