AMHERST, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — The weekend after UMass move-in, a fire broke out in a dorm. Amherst fire crews responded to the Coolidge Dorm just after 11 p.m. Sunday evening when the building’s sprinkler system was set off by smoke on the 20th floor. The fire was caused by an unattended candle left on a desk.
All 22 floors of dormitories were evacuated and the fire was extinguished, however multiple floors sustained smoke and water damage. All occupants were allowed back in by 4 a.m. and no injuries wrecked reported.