Fire in Notre Dame Cathedral

misskarne

Handy Emergency Backup Mode
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Glad to hear no one died...

Do they not have firefighting helicopters there?

Do you want the whole thing to collapse?! You cannot water bomb a building like this! Water bombing is for bushfires, not a fire in an ancient cathedral.

This is so very horrible. So much ancient history...so many wars survived...and this, this little accident, brings destruction. I can't watch the video of the spire falling any more. It breaks my heart.
 

cholla

Grand Duchess of Savoie - Marquessa of Chartreuse
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Here is a Twitter thread on the difficulties of fighting a fire like this:

Gregg Favre
Thank you for the link, very informative. And many thanks to Gregg Favre for considering "Pompiers de Paris" top class fire fighters. It's a nice thing to read after Trump's stupid advice. It was so grotesquely out of place.

Do you want the whole thing to collapse?! You cannot water bomb a building like this! Water bombing is for bushfires, not a fire in an ancient cathedral.
This. Water bombing a 850 years old building would just throw it to the ground, along with its surroundings.

The roof framework was made of more than 1000 oak trees hence its nickname "the forest". It was covered by 210 tons of lead that melted...

The first images of the inside have just been broadcasted. As incredible as it seems, the walls are unscathed ! There is a huge hole above the main altar which is unscathed too. And among the good news : the organ, which is one of the biggest in the world, has not been destroyed. Neither have been the main rose windows. It's almost a miracle.
 
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Vash01

Fan of Yuzuru, T&M, P&C
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I can't help wondering - is it just a coincidence that this happened during the Easter week?

They have not figured out the cause of the fire, it seems. It just seems odd that a structure like that caught fire suddenly.
 

AxelAnnie

Like a small boat on the ocean...
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Thank you for the link, very informative. And many thanks to Gregg Favre for considering "Pompiers de Paris" top class fire fighters. It's a nice thing to read after Trump's stupid advice. It was so grotesquely out of place.

This. Water bombing a 850 years old building would just throw it to the ground, along with its surroundings.

The roof framework was made of more than 1000 oak trees hence its nickname "the forest". It was covered by 210 tons of lead that melted...

The first images of the inside have just been broadcasted. As incredible as it seems, the walls are unscathed ! There is a huge hole above the main altar which is unscathed too. And among the good news : the organ, which is one of the biggest in the world, has not been destroyed.
CBSN is reporting that the entire building is engulfed.

Having read the information linked above, it is easy to see why.
 

ballettmaus

Well-Known Member
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18,646
I can't help wondering - is it just a coincidence that this happened during the Easter week?

They have not figured out the cause of the fire, it seems. It just seems odd that a structure like that caught fire suddenly.

There was reconstrution going on. Unfortunately, it's not that unsual for a building with a wood structure that old to catch fire during construction.

I still find the timing odd but in different way. We're only days away from Good Friday and resurrection.
 

Dave of the North

Digging up dead relatives since 1992
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Back in 1980 or so there was a large old wooden church in Saint John that was being renovated. It caught fire (I think from a blowtorch being used to strip paint) and within minutes it was fully in flames.
 

millyskate

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A journalist who has been inside the building somehow claims the damage is far less extensive than one might imagine. That even the chairs are still present, that many artworks appear preserved.
That there is a whole where the spire was and the roof is considerably damaged, but the ground floor is largely saved.
 

millyskate

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They already let a journalist inside? :eek:
The president got taken inside and possibly a couple of journalists were allowed inside also. https://twitter.com/RaphaelleBacque This journalist from Le Monde was allowed inside for sure - not sure if she was the one interviewed.

There is still fire but it is contained above the vault.

ETA: the interview I heard was actually by the mayor of Paris, not a journalist it seems.
 

cholla

Grand Duchess of Savoie - Marquessa of Chartreuse
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Heard a few minutes ago : according to the Architect in chief for the Historical Monuments, "the treasure is saved. Tomorrow we will check the paintings that could have been damaged by water and smoke in the chapels around the nave". Fire is still burning (no longer raging) only between the vault and the roof framework or what's left of it.

And I can finally go to bed, it's past 1 a.m. dammit...
 

skatingfan5

Past Prancer's Corridor
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The first images of the inside have just been broadcasted....And among the good news : the organ, which is one of the biggest in the world, has not been destroyed. Neither have been the main rose windows.It's almost a miracle.
Yes, almost a miracle to survive the fire's incredible heat. I am thankful that amidst the devastation not all was lost -- and that no one died.
 

Sylvia

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AxelAnnie

Like a small boat on the ocean...
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Then CBSN should watch French TV live to get more accurate info ;)
Wolla, post: 5575186, member: 5972"]Then CBSN should watch French TV live to get more accurate info ;)[/QUOTE]
Well maybe. The French fire officials on another channel were saying it was all gone.
 

victorskid

Happily ignoring ultracrepidarians (& trolls)!
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Wolla, post: 5575186, member: 5972"]Then CBSN should watch French TV live to get more accurate info ;)
Well maybe. The French fire officials on another channel were saying it was all gone.[/QUOTE]

Photos from inside the building actually posted on the Cathedral's own Twitter site would seem to refute the fact that it was "all gone".
 

cholla

Grand Duchess of Savoie - Marquessa of Chartreuse
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Well maybe. The French fire officials on another channel were saying it was all gone.
As you can see on the pictures linked above, it's not true. I have friends living right across the river and who still can see Notre Dame right now. It's not "all gone" at all except for the roof and spire. I doubt that any "French fire officials" can have attested of something which is obviously (and fortunately) untrue.
 

AxelAnnie

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As you can see on the pictures linked above, it's not true. I have friends living right across the river and who still can see Notre Dame right now. It's not "all gone" at all except for the roof and spire. I doubt that any "French fire officials" can have attested of something which is obviously (and fortunately) untrue.
I think they were referring to the interior wooden structure. Looks like the organ was saved. That is way great.

CBS
"Everything is burning, nothing will remain from the frame," Notre Dame spokesperson Andre Finot told French media, according to The Associated Press. By Monday evening, Paris fire chief Jean-Claude Gallet told reporters he believes firefighters have managed to save the cathedral's landmark rectangular towers from the blaze.
 
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beepbeep

Brazilian Eurotrash
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The way the fire burned through the inside of the cathedral reminded me so much of The National Museum fire in Rio de Janeiro :(

I'm glad that most of the art seems to be safe and that the outside stone structure survived. So much history lost. I'm sure it will be restored in some capacity, but the whole thing is disheartening.
 

AxelAnnie

Like a small boat on the ocean...
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How much do you think it will take to rebuild the Cathedral? Gazillions, I would think. And some things cannot been rebuilt. I saw a segment on the Organ......whc
Heavy.com
It is the largest organ in France. The Guardian reports that it has five keyboards, 109 stops and approximately 8,000 pipes.
Lefebvre said he first heard the organ inside Notre Dame as a teenager and was hooked on it. “Here in Notre Dame when you play a tone, the acoustics make the resonance last for eight to nine seconds. It is exceptional, the sound spreads across the whole structure and you feel it when you play, the sounds come back at you. It doesn’t just stop immediately. It provokes sensations for the organist.”
 

LeafOnTheWind

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We had a local pipe organ damaged during a flood. The newspaper said that the art of making the pipes has been lost and they rarely can repair them to sound like they used to. It has something to do with the materials used and making sure the pipes don't start to flatten during shipping. I don't know how true this is but how sad if it is. It is extremely expensive to repair in any case. :(
 

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