RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond firefighters did not check the attic or the roof of Fox Elementary School on their initial visit to the school just before 9:30 p.m. on Friday night after a passerby reported seeing and hearing an alarm going off inside, according to spokeswoman Amy Vu.
Vu said it is the protocol to check the roof or attic when a fire alarm has been activated and there is an indication of fire, but firefighters saw a "trouble condition" activation as opposed to a fire alarm activation on the alarm panels at Fox during that visit.
RELATED: RPS releases security footage from night of Fox Elementary School fire
Vu sent the CBS6 Problem Solvers the National Fire Protection Association website which explained "trouble condition" meant there was an issue or fault with the fire alarm system itself, as opposed to "alarm condition."
According to the website, alarm condition "means there is an immediate threat to life, property, or mission. An example of this would be a smoke detector sending a signal to the fire alarm control unit that there is a presence of smoke, which would initiate a notification to the occupants to evacuate."
Dispatch communications from that night captured on Broadcastify indicate a 911 dispatcher worked to confirm with firefighters what type of alarm was going off at the school.
Firefighters told the dispatcher "we verified, it's stating that it's a photodetector on the second floor, classroom 32."
A photodetector is a smoke alarm that uses light to detect smoke.
Once fire crews confirmed it was a photodetector, the dispatcher asked if crews wanted the dispatcher to contact the fire marshall and crews said "yes."
And yet, Vu said the alarm panel firefighters viewed from outside through a window and the main alarm panel inside of the office of the school, did not indicate a fire alarm activation and instead showed they were in "trouble condition" with the phrase "2nd class 32."
"So essentially the panel indicated something was wrong with the detector, but not that there was smoke," Vu said.
Further complicating things, when firefighters tried to contact the alarm company when they first arrived and were still outside, the alarm company told them they had no active alarms or alarm activation at the school.
RPS said that is because the alarm panel, which contacts the alarm company via a phone line, did not include an area code, which is something Verizon began requiring in October.
When asked why the fire department did not try calling the alarm company again once inside to help them decipher the alarm panel, Vu said that was because the alarm company already advised fire crews they did not have any active alarms on their end.
RPS is still investigating exactly which detector inside the school set off an initial alarm.
