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Jeffrey Hescock, assistant vice chancellor for environmental health and safety and emergency management, and Amherst Fire Chief Lindsey Stromgren co-presented “Beyond the Fire: Coordinating Campus Recovery and Student Support Following a Large-Scale Off-Campus Emergency” at the New England Preparedness Summit, held Sept. 9-10 at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Hosted by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) in partnership with the Northeast Emergency Management Training and Education Center, the sold-out summit brought together more than 400 emergency management professionals from across New England and beyond. The summit marked MEMA’s first large-scale conference since 2019.

Highlighting the strong emergency preparedness and response partnership between UMass Amherst and the Town of Amherst, the session focused on lessons learned from the November 2025 Olympia Place apartment fire, which displaced more than 230 students. The incident required activation of the university’s Emergency Operations Center, establishment of an Emergency Resource Center, and extensive coordination among UMass, the town, and community partners to address the immediate and ongoing needs of affected students.

The presentation highlighted how the longstanding collaboration between the Amherst Fire Department and UMass Amherst helped support an effective response and recovery. From the initial emergency response through student housing, basic needs, communications and recovery efforts, the incident demonstrated the importance of strong relationships between a university and its surrounding community before an emergency occurs.

Collaboration was a central theme throughout the summit, making the joint UMass-Amherst Fire Department presentation particularly timely. The Olympia Place response provided a real-world example of how strong town-gown relationships can translate into coordinated action during a complex emergency.

The presentation also reinforced the importance of continuing to strengthen partnerships between UMass Amherst and the Town of Amherst to ensure the community is prepared to respond together when emergencies affect students, residents and the broader community.