The Chatham fire that changed dockyard safety

What was the most significant fire in naval history?

The early-seventeenth-century Chatham Dockyard fire, because the loss of seasoned timber prompted lasting Royal Navy fire-safety reform.

A Chatham Dockyard fire in the early seventeenth century is selected for the changes it prompted in fire prevention. It destroyed a large quantity of seasoned timber and other dockyard material. Fire controls subsequently changed substantially across Royal Navy yards. Their later record is characterized as unusually safe compared with other countries' construction yards, with fewer ships lost while being built. The significance assigned to the fire lies in that lasting change to production safety.