AMHERST — An investigation remains active into a November 2025 fire that destroyed an apartment building under construction and spread to the neighboring Olympia Place, destroying the homes of some 230 people, mostly University of Massachusetts students.
The fire broke out the evening of Nov. 7 at the construction site at 47 Olympia Drive. Intense heat carried the flames to the five-story, 230-bed Olympia Place at 57 Olympia Drive, which was also consumed in the blaze.
Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren said Tuesday that material from the 47 Olympia Drive site continues to be examined in a state laboratory, as investigators try to identify the cause.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation, but Stromgren said he would be alerted to any findings. He put the odds of a cause being identified at about 50-50.
Both sites remain fenced off and are being monitored for any impacts on the environment, with the Conservation Commission having a monitoring report on its agenda this week.
Stromgren said because the building permit for the new building remains active, Archipelago Investments, which handled the original $18.5 million development of Olympia Place in 2016, could get a contractor to resume work. When the fire broke out, that building had already risen to four stories.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said his understanding, too, is that the active building permit can be used by the developer.
The site where Olympia Place stood, though, at 57 Olympia Drive, would have to go through a new permitting process before any work on a building there could happen.
Stromgren said he would want to offer input should Olympia Place be rebuilt, with concerns over whether an adequate supply of water would be available. That became a concern when firefighters on the fifth floor were unable to get adequate water pressure from their hoses.
There were also no sprinklers in the attic space, and once there the fire spread across with no fire walls to stop the flames.
Olympia Place was also built using wood construction techniques, compliant with state building code, a method in which the main structure is wood and with attached wood sheathing panels containing doors and windows. Stromgren previously said that this can make the building susceptible to fire in a way the far more expensive steel construction is not.
