A recent fire department report on the two-alarm blaze that destroyed a custom van company at Roanoke’s Riverdale development this spring says that the valve connecting the sprinkler system’s water supply had been turned off prior to the blaze.
Workers at Riverdale had turned off all the valves at some point “because the historic system was broken and inoperable,” according to a statement Monday from Riverdale Southeast LLC. The statement did not say when the system had been shut off, but it acknowledged that the owners of Noke Van Co. had not been told about what it termed a “historic water line failure.”
Because the fire suppression system was inoperable at the time of the blaze, Justin VanBlaricom, who owns the company with his wife, Keri, said they’re fighting with several insurance companies over compensation for millions of dollars in lost inventory and equipment.
Noke Vans, which makes customized recreational vans, moved into the Riverdale development in September 2023. The property, which was once home to the American Viscose rayon plant, was bought by developer Ed Walker earlier that year with the intention to turn it into apartments and commercial and industrial spaces.
According to the origin and cause report for the fire, dated April 4 and revised July 1 and prepared by Assistant Fire Marshal Christopher Hale, footage from security cameras installed by Noke Van Co. shows an electrical fire igniting in a vehicle on April 4.
When firefighters arrived, the blaze was already at the roof line and on all four sides of the building. Fire suppression efforts continued for about 12 hours, according to the report.
A supplemental report by fire Capt. Joseph Hodgin states: “The building had a sprinkler system with a water flow alarm. The property is serviced by private hydrants and supply lines. None of these systems were functional at the time of the incident. A post indicator valve near the building was found to be in the closed position.”
Such a valve generally is used to control the flow of water to a fire suppression system.
Additionally, firefighters had to connect to a hydrant about 900 feet away from the blaze, the report says.
“Due to the low pressure on the hydrants, resulting in insufficient gallons per minute from the hydrant, the fire could be contained but not extinguished until Engine 14 was able to connect to the hydrant and relay pump to Engine 11,” it says.
Hope Escobar, spokesperson for Roanoke Fire-EMS, declined to answer questions about the valve closure, citing an active investigation. The report states that the fire scene investigation is closed, but an investigation by the property’s insurance company is underway.
However, according to the statement from Riverdale, representatives of the development who had shut down the system had planned “with appropriate authorities in the event that emergency service was needed.”
“Thanks to forward planning from the Roanoke City Fire Department prior to the fire, plans were in place to run the very long lines needed to get water to higher risk areas of Riverdale,” it said. “This excellent advance planning helped the fire department to keep the fire from spreading to other parts of the Riverdale complex.”
The statement from Riverdale Southeast said “there is no question” that the fire loop waterline and other “legacy” water lines at the development were “irreparably broken and out of service” prior to the fire — the water lines “functionally don’t exist.”
The statement also said that Riverdale Southeast “mistakenly believed” that everyone at the development had been briefed on the issue. “But in the aftermath of the fire we are confident that Noke Van Co was not aware of the condition or the situation. We cannot find where Noke Van Co was put on notice of the historic water line failure.”
VanBlaricom said he didn’t know about the valve closure until he arrived at the fire. He was also told at that time that there had been a leak in the fire loop that couldn’t be located, which resulted in the water being shut off at some point before the fire.
He said that in November 2023, a water flow alarm went off after he mistakenly turned the power off to the air compressor system, causing the fire department to come. At that time, he said, the sprinkler system had water and had worked.
While the fire marshal’s report estimated total damages at about $4 million — half each to the building and its contents — VanBlaricom said he believes that the company lost closer to $3.5 million worth of property in the fire. He said 22 vehicles were lost, and the company is now juggling investigations with multiple insurance companies.
He said that insurance investigators are looking into why the blaze started and why it continued to grow, and he said that the company’s insurance policy was contingent on the sprinkler system’s functioning.
“We’re trying to stay afloat with our business while they decide if we knew or not,” VanBlaricom said.
A post indicator valve is “never allowed to be closed,” said Justin Biller, principal of CODECheck Consulting and a former building official and deputy Virginia state fire marshal. “If it’s closed, your sprinkler system will not operate.” Biller spoke generally about fire protection systems based on his experience and certifications and is not involved with this investigation.
Biller said either a lock on the valve or a monitoring system is required by law. A lock, he said, would likely be accessible by the building owner and the fire department. If monitored, the building owner would receive a signal notifying them of a closed valve.
Virginia State Code section 901.8 states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, tamper with, or otherwise disturb any fire hydrant, fire detection and alarm system, fire suppression system, or other fire appliance required by this code or the applicable building code except for the purpose of extinguishing fire, for training purposes, for recharging or making necessary repairs, or where approved by the fire code official.”
Biller said any time a sprinkler is inoperable for more than four hours, continuous surveillance to detect early signs of fire, or a fire watch, is required by the Virginia Fire Prevention Code.
Noke Van Co. has been relocated to another building in Riverdale to continue its operations from there.
“Ed Walker has been super helpful. We’re not in a lease yet so he’s been doing everything he can to get us up and running,” VanBlaricom said.
Work to replace the development’s entire water and sewer system, which started before the fire, is ongoing, according to Riverdale Southeast’s statement.
“That process has started in cooperation with the Western Virginia Water Authority and the City of Roanoke, and the new system will be complete by the end of 2025.”