A fire extinguisher hangs ready near a bank of votive candles in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace April 24. (HCH photo | Anna Weaver)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
As people worldwide watched in horror as flames engulfed the roof and spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris April 15, in Hawaii one couldn’t help but wonder, and worry, about our own historic cathedral and its flammable potential.
Like the Paris church, the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace was constructed long before the introduction of fire suppression systems. Like Notre Dame, the cathedral basilica has been undergoing restoration and repair. Like Notre Dame, the roof framing is made of wood.
Notwithstanding the obvious differences between the iconic, art-laden gothic cathedral on the Seine River, and the humble Honolulu mission church on the Fort Street Mall, there are other parallels to note.
In French, their names are similar: Notre Dame de Paris and Notre Dame de la Paix. Both have hosted saints and royalty under their roofs. Both are active parish churches.
Honolulu’s cathedral basilica was built by missionaries from Paris. The titular statues of the virgin and child of both churches look very much alike.
At 175 years old, Hawaii’s mother church is a mere infant compared to her Paris sister who has been around eight and a half centuries, but it still holds the distinction of being the oldest building in downtown Honolulu.
While Notre Dame’s primary structure is made of masonry, the main walls and pillars of the Honolulu cathedral are constructed of coral blocks, covered by stucco.
But where does the Honolulu cathedral stand with regards to the danger of fire?
The building’s renovation plans were “reviewed and approved” by the Honolulu Fire Department in 2015, said architect Barbara Shideler of Mason, the Hawaii architectural firm that specializes in historic structures that is overseeing the cathedral’s renovation.
She said, “the church’s electrical system is incrementally being brought up to code as the work is phased and completed.”
“The most critical thing we can do to protect the church is to upgrade the electrical system,” Shideler told the Hawaii Catholic Herald April 18 by email. “There is still outdated ‘knob and tube’ wiring (a system commonly used from the late 19th century through the 1940s) throughout the building.”
She said the electrical system in the bell tower, basement and altar area have been modernized.
Next up for rewiring would be the gallery (balcony) ceilings, the area above the vaulted ceiling and the sacristies behind the altar. This is scheduled for the next restoration phase with the upgrade of the air conditioning.
“The sooner we can get to this phase of work the safer the building will be,” she said.
Alarm pull stations
Manual fire alarm pull stations have been installed in the bell tower and basement. More are planned for throughout the church. The addition of smoke detectors to activate this alarm system is being “evaluated.” There are also fire extinguishers throughout the church.
Another thing the cathedral has in its favor is a fire station literally across the street on Beretania.
Being “cautiously considered,” she said, is an automatic fire sprinkler system.” Among the concerns regarding this “final option,” Shideler said, would be the requirement of “many penetrations” in the historic hand-stenciled ceiling vault and an anticipated cost of more than $300,000, “depending on whether the water service to the cathedral is adequate.”
The cathedral’s roof frames are made of Douglas fir and date back to around 1878 when the roof was raised to install the vaulted ceiling. The ceiling is made of redwood, decorated with polychrome stenciling on linen. In the 1940s steel trusses and ties were added to keep the exterior walls from spreading outward from the weight of the roof.
Shideler believes the upstairs galleries, installed to hold an overflow of congregation, and choir loft were part of the church’s original plans, but have been rebuilt several times since then.
“When we made some recent repairs we found newspaper from World War II between the floor joists, so repairs obviously continued over the years,” she said.
The cathedral has nearly completed two of six restoration phases. Phase one, completed in November 2015, saw the repair and reinforcement of the galleries and the bell tower, which had extensive termite damage.
Phase two, most of which was completed last year, includes the expansion of the sanctuary floor, the restoration of four stained glass windows, the creation of burial vaults for bishops and electrical upgrades. The last improvement, to be finished in September, will be large painted standing portraits of St. Marianne Cope and St. Damien de Veuster on the back wall to the left and right of the tabernacle altar.
The final phases, three through six, will include the electrical and air conditioning improvements, the building of the reliquary chapel, renovations to the interior, new pews, a new tile floor, cleaning of the vaulted ceilings, restoration of the pipe organ and landscaping.
Among the goals of the restoration, according to the Cathedral Renewal Campaign website, is to “honor and invoke the 19th century time period of St. Damien and St. Marianne,” who both used the church, which is recognized officially as a historic building.
For more information about the Cathedral Renewal Campaign, or to make a contribution, go to www.HonoluluCathedralRenewal.org. Click on the “Learn” button, or select “Renewal Campaign” in the toolbar to view the campaign video. Email CRC@rcchawaii.org, or call 585-3329.
