Report Reveals More Calif. Mall Fire Details

ROSEVILLE, Calif. --

The city of Roseville on Monday released several reports in connection with a devastating fire at a Placer County mall.

The raging fire tore through much of the Westfield Galleria at Roseville on Oct. 21, leaving significant smoke and water damage.

Police said 23-year-old Alexander Piggee, who was arrested in connection with the fire, is facing charges of aggravated arson and criminal threats.

The fire battalion chief on the scene explains in one report how she found out sprinklers were off and that she ordered them back on.

According to the fire incident report, Roseville Fire battalion chief Kathy Finney, who was in command during much of the Galleria fire, wrote that she "felt comfortable that the sprinklers should hold the fire in check" until the fire department gained access.

Later, she writes, fire personnel found the fire pump turned off and that no fire department had shut it off.

Finney said she advised dispatch of the situation and requested that the sprinklers be turned back on, according to the report.

Firefighters were advised that the suspect was captured, according to the report, but that there was a threat of a bomb inside the mall.

Firefighters were also told it was unsafe to enter the mall.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team working with Roseville police requested shutting down the sprinklers again for a short time to allow them to see through the camera of the police robot.

However, their request was denied.

According to the report, fire department supervisors strongly objected and made it clear that it would have serious consequences.

Finney was the first commander on scene of the Galleria fire, and she was in charge as the blaze raged out of control.

Her accounts of what happened are the most detailed reports KCRA 3 has seen yet.

Roseville city officials defended their roles in the Galleria fire during a Friday news conference in the wake of the release of an after-action report that states a mall worker believed he'd been told to turn off the sprinkler system by law enforcement.