Amherst Is No Ferguson

Police in riot gear disperse crowd at the gateway to UMass

Ever since the start of summer I've been anxiously anticipating the release of the Ed Davis study otherwise known as the Blarney Blowout Report -- not that I think taxpayers will get their $160,000 worth.

But now in the wake of the Ferguson, Missouri troubles, I'm hoping it doesn't come out for a while, at least until things settle down in that troubled town.

Other than the image of police clad in riot gear there's no real comparison between what is going on now and what happened in Amherst on March 8.  Although I'm sure clueless critics will try to make that association.

First off,  our police were outnumbered 50-1, as opposed to Ferguson where police seem to outnumber protesters. And at the Blarney Blowout, fueled by copious amounts of alcohol, police came under direct attack from the unruly mob via rocks, bottles and chunks of ice.

The effervescent event was covered by local media in real time and the national media quickly picked up those dispatches.  But no reporters were hassled by police, much less arrested. 

Amherst police do not use rubber bullets, military grade smoke bombs, or tear gas grenades, or patrol in heavily armored vehicles.

And they do not shoot unarmed citizens.

Ever.

Amherst and UMass police made 58 arrests at the Blarney Blowout

Party House E-X-P-A-N-S-I-O-N?

33 Phillips Street

Stephen Gharabegian, one of the more notorious absentee landlords in town, will go before the Amherst Zoning Board of Appeals on September 25 to request a Special Permit to "Change a 3 family house to 4 family house."

Of course these days "family" simply means four unrelated tenants, and on Phillips Street -- where Mr. Gharabegian (aka College Street and Knight Properties LLCs) owns four-out-of-nine dwellings -- that means UMass undergrad students.

Interestingly one main criteria for the ZBA in allowing such requests is, does it fit into the general character of the neighborhood?

And in this case, where 95% of the (supposedly) 64 tenants along the entire street are "college aged youth"-- many of them drawn by Phillips Street's rowdy reputation -- it's hard to imagine an increase of four residents can make a huge difference.

Kind of an "Escape from L.A." scenario where all the refugees are safely secluded in a giant makeshift holding area.  

Still, on general principles the ZBA should deny the permit.  Especially since the proposed expansion trips newer building codes that require a sprinkler system.  And thus far Mr. Gharabegian makes no mention of installing such a lifesaver. 

After the recent major fire at Southpoint Apartments or the fatal one at Rolling Green Apartments, where lack of sprinklers are grandfathered, who would argue that a such a safety system is too much of a burden?

   Mangaement Plan Lease 33 Phillips

A New Engine In Town

AFD new Engine 1 (2013 Typhoon/E-MAX 1500/750/30)

While there's no question AFD is badly understaffed and Central Station is badly in need of replacement, their equipment at least is top notch.

Let the training begin

This Bad Boy just arrived last week and is currently undergoing specialized small equipment installation and being stocked with routine supplies, but should be in service by the end of the month, just in time for the students return to our (currently) sleepy little college town.

The pumper was originally scheduled for purchase next year but the town moved it up to take advantage of low borrowing rates.  And when your talking $400,000 even a small percentage makes a big difference.  

Last May Town Meeting also approved an addition $20,000 for medical equipment and a specialized drug lock box to allow Engine 1 to act as a stop gap ambulance (but cannot transport a patient). 

 AFD Current Engine 1 ((2001 Cyclone ll 1500/750/30) at rest

Going out fighting:

In what may have been her last battle with The Beast as a frontline piece, Engine 1 was first to arrive Saturday at Southpoint Apartment major structure fire (unfortunately with only 1 firefighter aboard).

Engine 1, alongside Ladder 1 and Engine 2 Southpoint Apartments

No Surrender, Yes Retreat

 Amherst Pelham Regional High School

Silly me, I always thought that when you went "on a retreat" it encompassed more than a couple hours.  Seems the only difference between this "retreat" and a normal run-of-the-mill "meeting" is this one shuts out public comment.

After the last Jerry-Springer-like meeting of the Regional School Committee (well at least the last "official" meeting), I can see why they would like to avoid the general public.

But that is precisely the problem with our dysfunctional education committees:  losing touch with the people who put them in office, although all of them were elected in "contests" that drew less than a 50% voter turnout.

And losing sight of job #1: Providing high-quality education to all children, regardless of race, creed, color, religion ... or political affiliation. At a cost the average taxpayer can bear.

Southpoint Fire Damage (View From Above)

Southpoint Apartments (most fire damage to  rear center building)

Fire cause has been determined:  Tenant left (for the day) a pot on the stove

Considering it took an army of firefighters three hours to bring the stubborn Saturday afternoon blaze under control, I'm actually surprised there's not way more extensive damage to the roof of the structure.  

I just now noticed the time/date stamp on this iPhone video I took, which shows 5:02 PM on Saturday.  Considering the first AFD engine was still a few minutes away, kind of gives you an idea of how far along the fire was before a drop of water was brought to bear

And of course it did not help that the initial arrival truck, Engine 1, had only one firefighter aboard.

Frustrating statement from AFD Local 1764 regarding Southpoint Apartments fire:

   AFD Union Statement Southpoint Fire

Now if you really want to lose sleep tonight envision this scenario repeating itself three weeks from now at Townhouse Apartments in North Amherst, which is almost exclusively UMass students.

And on a Saturday at 5:00 PM too many of them will be under the influence of alcohol.

The extra staffing (4 firefighters) UMass pays for do not report for duty until 9:00 PM on the weekends.

Pay attention! (nothing to cheer about):

A Good Torch

 Flame of Hope enters town center

It wasn't all bad news on the public safety department front yesterday. 

The Western Massachusetts Law Enforcement Torch Run, a 3 mile jog from Amherst PD headquarters on Main Street to Kennedy Dorm Southwest area UMass, managed to step off at the scheduled start, 7:00 PM. 

As they were running up Main Street, South Hadley Fire Department was arriving for a fire alarm at Johnny's Tavern just opposite Town Hall.  All AFD personnel were busy fighting the major fire at Southpoint Apartments.

The Torch Run is a nationwide benefit to raise money for Special Olympics.  This local event is doubly beneficial as the torch run culminates with the lighting of a cauldron to signal the start of the Summer Games.

Line up at APD headquarters

The Morning After

 Crossfire of water directed at roof Southpoint Apartments 6:00 PM Saturday

 

The Southpoint Apartment structures devastated by yesterday's fire are still standing, but four interconnecting buildings are currently uninhabitable -- leaving 36 families, possibly 100 individuals (many of them children), homeless.

 Almost midnight Saturday

In a college town where affordable housing is almost impossible to find.

 

Sunday morning 7:30 AM, AFD still on scene

Salvage operation front lawn 2:00 PM

But it could have been far, far worse.  Two first responders (one PD, one FD) were treated and released at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, but no tenants suffered physical injury.  The psychological injury, however, will take a long time to heal.

 Residents watching fire from a safe distance 5:30 PM yesterday

According to AFD Chief Nelson the list of departments involved via mutual aid goes like this:

Second Alarm

Northampton

Hadley

Pelham

Belchertown EMS

Third Alarm

Belchertown

Leverett

Shutesbury

Sunderland

Fourth Alarm

Easthampton

Northampton – Ladder Truck

Granby

Ware

Town Coverage

South Hadley District 1 – Fire & EMS

South Hadley District 2

Department of Fire Services

Rehab Unit

Incident Support Unit

Other

Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross

The town just last week took delivery of a new pumper that will be used as the front line Engine 1 but it still needs another week or two of equipment installation work, so it was not at the fire yesterday.

Ladder 1 with 102' aerial ladder armed with 1,000 gallons per minute gun swings into action

South Hadley FD responding to fire alarm Johnny's Tavern 7:00 PM

Northampton FD arrived early on to join the fight

Fire was started by pot left on stove in upstairs apartment and spread quickly to attic and then over to other units

Red Cross on scene dealing with "closer to 40 families" from the 36 housing units impacted by the fire

Red Cross confirms this recovery effort will be far more expensive than last year's Rolling Green Apartments fire