AMHERST, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - More than 230 students, mostly from UMass Amherst, remain homeless tonight after a devastating fire Friday evening destroyed an apartment building on Olympia Drive in Amherst.

The fire is contained as of Monday; however, the building had to be demolished to make that progress.

Western Mass News spoke with members of the Amherst community to ask what they have done to help those who have been affected.

One longtime Amherst resident, Meg Rosa, told us “I kind of quickly jumped on and started collecting clothes over this weekend from lots of people in this community. This community has been amazing... Everybody wants to do whatever they can to help. Everybody’s going through their clothes, finding clothes, washing them and sorting them and either bringing them to me or having me pick them up.”

She brought all of what she collected from fellow community members to the UMass campus thrift store New2U.

Right now, those at the shop are asking for clothing, kitchen items, toiletries, school supplies, and backpacks.

The university’s fund to help the students has received 1,600 donations since Friday night, totaling nearly 154-thousand dollars.

Western Mass News was also able to talk with a UMass Grad student who initially started up a go-fund-me for the victims, Anthony Young, who told us, “Immediately, I started seeing posts on reddit about the fire, pictures and videos of the fire and I said oh my god, Olympia Place is burning. And then we saw the red cross truck go by, and that’s when our biggest fears peaked and we hoped everyone is okay.”

Young, who also works for a property management company, says in the aftermath of the fire; families were visiting his properties looking to see if there was any availability.

He says whatever is raised through his go-fund-me will go to the university’s fund to help displaced students.

Amherst Town Manager Paul Bochleman said, “The students lost everything, and I really feel bad for them...This is the biggest fire this town has seen in decades.”

Not only were firefighters challenged by poor water pressure, as Amherst Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren told us, the apartment complex also was built completely out of wood, making it easy for flames to overtake the five-story building.

She said, “That sprinkler system had no chance of dealing with that.”

UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes released a statement Monday saying in part, “Since early Saturday morning, our teams have concentrated on assessing students’ immediate needs and helping them access housing, food and medicine. Nearly two dozen students shared that they did not have available housing; they were all offered on-campus accommodations. Our Off Campus Housing Office is ensuring all students are connected to properties with immediate availability.”

UMass says their Emergency Resource Center is working to provide students with temporary laptops and phones along with replacement course materials, legal documents, and other items potentially lost in the fire.

If you would like to help those displaced by the fire, we have information on how to do so here on our website.

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