HMS Warrior

Background

Launched in 1860, HMS Warrior was Britain’s first armoured, iron hulled battleship, revolutionising warship construction. Powered by steam and sail, at 116m long she was the largest ship of her day as well as being the fastest and most highly armed ... the ultimate deterrent. However, she never saw action and was withdrawn from service in 1883. Once the pride of Queen Victoria’s Navy with her sister ship HMS Black Prince, HMS Warrior now sits majestically in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard serving as a museum, monument and highly popular visitor attraction.

The Challenge

Now operated and maintained by HMS Warrior Preservation Trust, protecting the ship from fire is of paramount importance – the disastrous 2007 fire on Cutty Sark looming large in the memory.

Churches Fire was briefed by Captain Ken Jones, Executive Officer Ron Broome and Electrical Maintainer David Atkinson to specify, supply and install a new fire alarm system sensitive enough to detect a fire in all areas of all four decks, but with the flexibility to cope with thousands of visitors every year without causing false alarms. An additional challenge was maintaining the authenticity and aesthetics of the ship, with any devices and cabling having to be kept out of public view and drilling of any holes not permitted.

The Solution

Churches Fire designed, engineered and installed a bespoke fire detection system which met all areas of HMS Warrior Preservation Trust’s specification. It comprised a modified Hayes fire panel to enable the isolation of individual zones via key switches during opening hours, with a series of beam detectors covering all decks and concealed inside barrels. The installation was a complete success and Churches Fire carries out the regular routine maintenance to ensure continued smooth operation without false alarms.