EDGEWATER -- The AvalonBay workers who sparked a massive blaze that displaced 1,000 people didn't delay their call to 911 for 15 minutes -- in fact, at no point did they call the emergency number, according to town officials and documents.

A review by NJ Advance Media of dozens of pages of dispatch logs, 911 tapes as well as interviews with officials has revealed no record that any AvalonBay employee alerted authorities to the Jan. 21 fire, a blaze that grew to be so spectacular it could be seen clear across the west side of Manhattan. One of the two complex buildings was destroyed in the fire, permanently displacing about 500 residents.

Edgewater Police Chief William Skidmore previously was quoted as saying maintenance workers accidentally sparked the spectacular blaze at around 4 p.m., then called a supervisor. Skidmore said then that "they," implying maintenance workers, then took 15 minutes before reporting the fire to authorities, which allowed the fire to spread.

Skidmore now says that of the six 911 calls made to report the fire, none were made by AvalonBay employees. Instead, dispatch logs obtained through a public records request show that firefighters were first notified of the blaze at 4:22 p.m. by the automated fire alert system in the complex.

Skidmore said the narrative that workers called 911 about 15 minutes after the fire began was "an assumption by the media," and says he never made such claims.

"I did not correct that assumption till the dispatch tapes were checked," he said in an email response to questions posed by NJ Advance Media late last week. "We actually received the alarm from their alarm company when the fire activated the alarm system. I apologize for the confusion but I don't like to give out information until it's been verified."

On Thursday, Jan. 23, in a conversation with reporters after a press conference that included Gov. Chris Christie, Skidmore said that two maintenance workers, who were not licensed plumbers, accidentally sparked the fire when they attempted to fix a leaky pipe behind the wall of a bathroom in a first-floor apartment in the Russell building.

"And did they report it immediately?" one reporter asked the police chief. "They tried to suppress it themselves and then they called their supervisor, which gave the fire a head start" and resulted in a delayed response, Skidmore replied. The police chief then said "the best way to handle it is to call 911."

"Do you know approximately how long it took before they called?" a different reporter asked in a follow-up. "Like I said, it was approximately 15 minutes or so, which, in a fire, is a long time," Skidmore said. He then told reporters that "it was not a criminal delay. It was an accident. It was a very tragic accident, but that's what it was."

The revelation that workers apparently never called authorities to alert them to the fire only adds more confusion to an already hazy timeline. When the maintenance men called their supervisor, what exactly they said to the supervisor and what the supervisor suggested they do in response is not yet known.

Skidmore said the police department is still investigating the blaze and did not offer a timetable for a report to be made public.

AvalonBay, now facing three civil lawsuits filed by displaced tenants, has said little since the massive fire broke out.

In response to the claim that workers never did alert emergency responders to the fire, Senior Vice President of Brand Strategy at Avalon Kurt Conway said "local authorities and the company continue to investigate this incident -- while that review is in progress, it is inappropriate to provide details at this time."

Officials have said the "lightweight" wood construction was a major factor in the destructive nature of the fire. The sprinkler system was working properly, according to officials, and enabled the occupants to evacuate the building quickly.

The delayed reporting of the fire was also a major factor, Skidmore said.

Of the six 911 calls about the fire that night logged by county dispatchers, most were from confused residents of the 408-unit complex and neighbors of nearby buildings.

"The alarms keep going on and on and on," said one resident, who was watching television when the alarms rang. "I don't know what's going on."

The Bergen County dispatcher patches her through with someone at the Edgewater police department, who explains that a fire had broken out near apartment 102 and instructs her to evacuate.

"It's 102? Oh my God, O.K. thank you," the resident in 106 says.

James Kleimann may be reached at jkleimann@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskleimann. Find NJ.com on Facebook.