In recent months, we revealed our recent partnership with Chichester Cathedral. It’s no secret that ARC Fire Safety & Security Ltd looks after a large number of heritage properties across the South Coast and Chichester Cathedral is now the third Cathedral that we support.
To learn more about who we look after, get in touch with our team at ARC Fire Safety & Security today!
Chichester Cathedral
The Cathedral at Chichester is 916 years old, with construction of the Cathedral commencing in 1076 and construction was completed under Bishop Luffa in time for its consecration to the Holy Trinity in 1108.
The Cathedral and 8 buildings were formally taken into the care of ARC Fire Safety & Security Ltd in January 2024 and in the last six months we have supported the team at the Cathedral with the ongoing maintenance across all 8 properties. This has included routine maintenance, Call Outs and scheduled upgrade works.
Building Analysis
During the course of the comprehensive 100% takeover of the Fire Alarm in the main Cathedral the attending engineers highlighted a number of observations and recommendations that could be made to further improve the Fire Alarm system within the Cathedral. The existing system offers comprehensive coverage of the whole Cathedral to not only protect the staff and visitors that attend the Cathedral on a daily basis, but the system also serves to provide prompt notification in the event of a fire to help safeguard the Cathedral structure itself.
The team at the Cathedral have been very forthcoming in receiving feedback and suggestions on how the system can be updated to ensure its conformity with current standards. We presented a number of options to the Cathedral and ultimately it was elected to replace the whole system, over a scheduled upgrade window.
Planning Phase
The planning phase commenced and happened to coincide with a large exercise being completed by West Sussex Fire and Rescue. This was one of the largest exercises completed in Chichester in over 20 years and was observed by many hundreds of locals. During the evening our Systems & Service Sales Consultant attended the evening to observe the large-scale exercise. The exercise carried through from early evening to the early hours of the following morning and was quite the spectacle. The Hose Laying vehicle normally housed at Bognor Regis ran large 19 inch high pressure hose lines from the canal base up South Street to the Cathedral. This was connected to the High Volume Water Tanker that had attended from Petworth which in turn distributed the water to the Turntable Ladder that had attended from Horsham. Many fire appliances attended the exercise from all corners of West Sussex and Hampshire. The night concluded and by morning it was as if nothing had happened in the city centre.
This exercise served multiple purposes, firstly the Fire and Rescue Service must hone their skills to ensure they can work in challenging environments. But this was also important for the team at ARC Fire Safety & Security Ltd. This exercise allowed us to observe the fire service’s practices when attending the fire. It helped answer pertinent questions such as which of the many entrances were used, and what routes were taken once in the property and feedback was sought from the Cathedral following the exercise to see if there was anything we could implement in the new system design that would make it easier for the fire service.
Installation
In the following days, the team at ARC Fire Safety & Security Ltd set about putting together a comprehensive plan on how the Fire Alarm replacement would proceed. As part of this process, 2 Installation Engineers spent a week in the Cathedral familiarising themselves with every corner of the Cathedral, every cable route and every challenge the installation would present. The feedback from this comprehensive investigation was collated and is being presented to the Cathedral’s team in the coming weeks with a view of the installation commencing towards the end of Summer.
Large Project Reputation
ARC Fire Safety & Security Ltd has always had a reputation for its ability to deliver on large projects using the latest technologies and practices. The new Fire Alarm at the Cathedral will comprise a “Hybrid” Fire Alarm. This will utilise an Advanced MXPro5 Addressable Fire Alarm panel and will have a combination of Apollo XP95 Wired and EMS Wireless detection devices. In addition, new Aspiration and Beam detection systems will also be installed to offer unrivalled protection across several varying spaces where “outside the box thinking” has become the norm to overcome the many challenges associated with heritage properties.
Current Project Status
The project is proving to be an exciting yet challenging installation and one that our installation team are very excited to get their teeth into. Our installation team thrive on complex installations and has been studying the complex rules associated with working in heritage properties in addition to taking guidance from the Cathedral themselves as to acceptable working practices in this space.
As the project progresses, we will bring you more updates and information to demonstrate the work being completed on this beautiful property. Looking for our services? Get in touch with our team of experts today!