The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) has spotlighted how one of the largest fires in Amherst’s recent history has revealed how staffing shortages in the city are jeopardizing both firefighters and the public’s safety.
On 7 November 2025, a major fire tore through a building under construction at 47 Olympia Drive before spreading to a nearby off-campus apartment complex.
Displacing more than 200 people –mostly University of Massachusetts Amherst students.
Other crews were already committed to calls, leaving the crew of Engine 2 staffed with four career firefighters to manage the fire with limited resources.
Local 1764 President Sarah Forsaith explained: “The department had nine firefighters on shift that night. Ambulance 1 was still at Baystate Medical Center with a critical patient and three firefighters and two firefighters were committed to another call on the south end of town.”
Forsaith said the incident reflects a growing and concerning pattern in which Amherst firefighters are routinely sent to serious emergencies with dangerously low staffing.
Forsaith added: “There are many times when only one firefighter responds to a fire call because everyone else is out of town on ambulance transports.
“These incidents are going to continue happening and relying on mutual aid or outside companies to provide responses to get us resources is just an unsustainable practice.”
According to the IAFF, research shows that when staffing is short, fires spread faster. That means more firefighters getting injured on the scene and greater losses of both life and property during emergencies.
Forsaith concluded: “The only reason we didn’t see a tragedy is because those residents, mostly able-bodied college students, were able to self-evacuate.”
In recent years, IAFF affiliates across North America have reported similar staffing challenges, making it clear that real, long-term staffing solutions can’t wait.
The IAFF is launching a coordinated effort to assist affiliates in securing minimum staffing levels to ensure fire fighters can respond safely and effectively during emergencies.
Addressing the growing safety concerns, IAFF 3rd District Vice President Jay Colbert warned: “When a fire engine or ladder truck shows up on a fire scene with only one firefighter on it, that is not the fire department coming to the rescue.
“That is one individual driving a piece of apparatus to a scene who, alone, is ill-equipped to safely perform the necessary functions of firefighting –such as simultaneously attacking the seat of the fire with water, conducting search and rescue and completing ventilation – without endangering the firefighter and the general public.
“The residents of Amherst and the brave men and women of Local 1764 deserve much better.”
NFPA 1710 recommends a minimum of four firefighters per apparatus when responding to low-hazard structure fires.
Local 1764 is now urging the town to add 18 career firefighters to bring their department into compliance with international safety standards.
Forsaith reaffirmed this sentiment: “That will be our continued ask going into the next budgetary season.”
The IAFF has highlighted how one of the largest fires in Amherst’s recent history has revealed how staffing shortages in the city are jeopardizing both firefighters and the public’s safety.
