RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond Fire Department announced in a statement Friday evening that its investigation into the devastating fire at William Fox Elementary School earlier this year has been completed.
RFD’s announcement comes about five months after the elementary school went up in flames on Feb. 11, 2022. The department has classified the fire as an accident, meaning that no evidence of foul play was found in connection to the incident.
“The fire is classified as accidental and the cause is undetermined,” RFD’s statement on July 1 read. “This means that there is no evidence to support any deliberate or criminal act.”
Considered a historic landmark in Richmond’s Fan District neighborhood, Fox Elementary was a 110-year-old school that had been attended by thousands of children in the surrounding communities. Students who had been attending Fox before it burned down were moved first to First Baptist Church to continue classes, and then relocated to Clark Springs Elementary to complete the rest of the school year.
According to Richmond Fire, the 911 call center did not receive a notice of an alarm going off at Fox on the day of the fire. Instead, a call was placed by a passerby, who said they heard an alarm coming from inside the school. The caller also said they saw strobe lights flashing near the area.
