Peterborough Cathedral fire: Service to remember 20th anniversary

The fire service was praised for its prompt action, saving Peterborough Cathedral from being destroyed

A cathedral is holding a service to mark 20 years since a "catastrophic" fire threatened to destroy it.

The fire broke out in a stack of plastic chairs in Peterborough Cathedral on 22 November 2001, resulting in extensive smoke damage to stonework and the windows.

Some of the Cambridgeshire firefighters who put out the blaze will attend the service and share their memories.

The choral evensong service is taking place at 15:30 GMT.

The fire on 22 November 2001 flooded the cathedral's interior with smoke

The cathedral said it was "only thanks to the prompt actions of the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service" that the building was saved.

"There was extensive smoke damage to the ceiling and the organ, and some of the windows blew out from the heat and the force of the fire," the Revd Canon Dr Rowan Williams said.

"It could have been catastrophic."

She said the cathedral had "one of very few Medieval wooden ceilings left in Europe, and the temperature of the fire was just under what it would have taken to be a disaster".

"It nearly created a fireball and we were minutes away from that."

Extracts from the diary of Jo Cundy, the widow of Ian Cundy who was the Bishop of Peterborough at the time, will be read during the service.

'We are helpless spectators'

"People are gathering on the grass area at the west end of the cathedral and the buzz goes round - there's a fire inside, and it's been burning for some time.

"The mood is sombre, shocked, and we feel numb with fear, imagining unthinkable scenarios. We are helpless spectators, watching and waiting.

"The story unfolds - the verger going home late after evensong... cycling round the cathedral and seeing the flickering light of flames through the windows of the north aisle - calling the fire brigade and alerting the dean.

"But the fire was well established by then, consuming the stack of plastic chairs where it had started, licking up the wooden organ casing, sending more and more heat up towards the unique mediaeval wooden painted ceiling.

"Dear Lord, save our cathedral!"

From the diary of Jo Cundy, wife of the late Bishop Ian Cundy

Some of the memories of the firefighters will also be included in the service.

Barry Boreham, a firefighter from Peterborough, said he had just started his shift when the alarm sounded at 18:40 GMT on 22 November.

His memories of that evening were that "the general view was that it was likely to be a false alarm".

People queued up outside the building the day after the fire to offer financial support

However, as they approached they saw "large quantities of thick black smoke to the left of the cathedral".

"A surreal sight greeted us," he said.

"The stained glass window on the left of the cathedral had already failed and huge flames and smoke were billowing out.

"Probably something I will never forget."

Mr Boreham said fighting the cathedral fire was "a defining moment in my career".

"I went on to serve another 20 years as an operational firefighter, and the cathedral fire is one of the few incidents I will never forget."

The cathedral has since been restored

The Very Revd Chris Dalliston, Dean of Peterborough, said: "This great building has stood at the heart of the city for many centuries yet is clearly more vulnerable than we imagine, and the fact that we can still worship here is a blessing that we must not take for granted."

The clean-up cost was estimated at £1.25m, much of which came from the cathedral's supporters.

People queued up outside the building the day after the fire to offer financial support.