The devastating fire at William Fox Elementary School, two years later

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.

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.

Firefighters were informed of the alarm going off, instead, by a passerby. When they arrived at the school around 9:30 p.m., it took them some time to enter the building due to communication breakdowns with RPS staff.

Furthermore, crews saw no visible smoke or fire outside the building — and once they were able to get inside, firefighters reported they were unable to locate the room the alarm panel indicated or any other signs of a fire. Just before 10:10 p.m., these crews left the scene.

Visible smoke and fire would begin to pour from the building’s upper floor within the next twenty minutes, prompting several crews to respond to the scene and remain there for many hours. A firefighter was injured during efforts to put out the fire.

The future for Fox Elementary students, staff

Students who previously attended William Fox Elementary have been taking classes at nearby Clark Springs Elementary as reconstruction efforts proceed.

Initially, students were moved to First Baptist Church to continue their learning — first virtually and then in person within the church’s 35 classrooms. The move to Clark Springs Elementary was a more long-term solution.

Construction has been ongoing on a renovated William Fox Elementary for some time. Over the past year, major progress has been made on things like the school’s playground and field, as well as the heavily damaged roof.

Most recently, the school building passed its special inspections and final inspections in September 2023, which officials considered a very important milestone. This involved clearing the new permanent roof, among other things.

“It’s the safest it’s ever been since the fire,” Dana Fox, the Chief Operating Officer of Richmond Public Schools, told 8News at the time. “We haven’t hit any snags or anything that would cause a delay, and so we are right on target for where we need to be.”

Developments have made community members cautiously optimistic about the tentative reopening goal of Fall 2025.