amherstfire.jpg

Hadley firefighters at the scene of a major fire at Rolling Green Apartments Monday morning.

(Photo by Greg Saulmon / The Republican)

This updates a story originally filed at 7:32 a.m.

UPDATE, 11:56 a.m.: Amherst Asst. Chief Lindsay Stromgren identified the victim as a UMass student. His name and age have not been released. Details have been added to the story below, including accounts from students who escaped the blaze.



AMHERST -- A University of Massachusetts student lost his life in a fire at the Rolling Green apartment complex that left 32 homeless Monday morning, Asst. Chief Lindsay Stromgren said.

Fire at Rolling Green Apartments in Amherst 27 Gallery: Fire at Rolling Green Apartments in Amherst

Stromgren said firefighters found the man inside one of the units. His name and age have not been released.

The fire, reported shortly before 5 a.m., heavily damaged a number of units at the complex, which is located off Route 9 at 1 Rolling Green Drive. Stromgren said 5 units of the 10-unit building were completely gutted. The roofs to several units, all facing the stretch of Route 9 also known as Belchertown Road, were all but destroyed.

The blaze displaced 32 people, including 22 University of Massachusetts students. UMass housing services, ÂRolling Green management and a team from the American Red Cross were assisting those displaced.



Multiple agencies were summoned to the scene. The Northampton, Hadley, South Hadley, Leverett, Sunderland and Belchertown fire departments provided mutual aide. Officials from the state Office of Fire Services, including State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan, were among the officials at the scene investigating the blaze.

Stromgren said he expected the investigation into the cause of the blaze to take some time.

01.21.2013 | AMHERST -- Residents Adam and Gina Bigelow move some of their belongings out of their fire-damaged apartment at Rolling Green apartments on Monday.

Amherst police officers cordoned off the block of apartments damaged by the blaze with yellow police tape.

Stromgren said several firefighters slipped on ice and were treated at the scene.



Franklin resident Pat Cooke said her daughter, who lives at the complex with three roommates, called at about 5 a.m. to say they had all safely escaped



The daughter said that somebody came banging on their door shortly before 5 a.m. yelling "fire, fire," Cooke said.



"It's not a call you want to get at 5 o'clock in the morning," said Cooke, who expressed relief that her daughter and her roommates escaped injury. Cooke drove to the fire scene from her Franklin home.



Chris Horte, a senior at UMass from Rockland, also awoke to someone knocking on his door to warn of the fire. Horte said he first awoke to the sound of car horns outside, only realizing the need to leave his unit when someone started yelling "fire."



Horte, who escaped along with his three roommates, said he watched from the parking lot as the fire ripped through the apartment block.



"It spread really fast," he said.

Roommates Dan Hewitt, David Carusotto, Mark Metivier, and Gregg Mancari, all from Pittsfield and juniors at UMass, lived in apartment 203, which is next to the unit where the fire broke out.



Like others who survived the blaze, Hewitt work up at about 4:30 a.m. Monday when he heard banging noises and heard someone yelling "fire." He said he woke up his three roommates, grabbed some necessities and fled.



"The fire was spreading pretty rapidly," he said, adding there were already a number of people outside when they were getting out of bed.



Mancari said he put on a jacket but ran out of the apartment wearing just boxer shorts and two unmatching shoes that both fit his right foot. Later someone lent him a pair of pants, and his parents drove to Amherst with shoes.



"It was pretty shocking, Carusotto said.



Hewitt thanked the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross for their help. "They have given us money for food, clothing to get us back on our feet. It was huge," he said.



Although their apartment was badly damaged in the blaze, building managers have been able to find them another apartment in the complex.



The four are hoping to be able to retrieve their computers and other belongings later, but they do not know if anything will be salvageable.



"It is all material things. The important thing is we are all here," Hewitt said, adding the four have been friends since kindergarten.

View Larger Map

Staff writer Diane Lederman and assistant online editor Greg Saulmon contributed reporting.