RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — It has been two years since William Fox Elementary School in Richmond was destroyed in a devastating fire on Feb. 11, 2022.
Since then, the community has been doing its best to endure these years of pain and uncertainty by coming together in support of one another as William Fox Elementary’s reconstruction continues onward.
8NEWS FULL COVERAGE: William Fox Elementary School Fire
The fire itself: What happened at Fox Elementary?
The fire left the school completely without a roof and otherwise heavily damaged the structure, which smoldered for over 24 hours .
Community members and officials alike pressed for answers as to how something like this could have happened. The resulting investigations found that the 110-year-old historic school in the Fan was not retrofitted for sprinklers due to its age and that its fire alarm panels failed to notify its alarm company due to a dialing error .
This alarm panel had been previously reported as in need of repairs by William Fox Elementary staff. Additionally, eight fire code violations had been previously noted but remained unaddressed by Richmond Public Schools (RPS) across several years, dating back to 2010. RPS officials, when asked, said they never received these audit reports.