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Notre Dame Cathedral Is Burning
This is a fast-moving story, and absolutely devastating development during Holy Week. The BBC reports:
A fire has broken out at the famous Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, firefighters say.
The cause is not yet clear, but officials say it could be linked to renovation work.
Images on social media show plumes of smoke billowing into the air above the the 850-year-old Gothic building.
BREAKING; a major fire has broken out at #NotreDame Cathedral #Paris pic.twitter.com/3VZjmGlO52 pic.twitter.com/Jj4OYAX5kR
— Global Independent News (@GlobalinNews) April 15, 2019
DEVELOPING: Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral is on fire, with roof and spire of the nearly 900-year-old cathedral engulfed in flames https://t.co/fqbTzjK6vp pic.twitter.com/GzHsMKh6TN
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 15, 2019
#NotreDame: 'The roof has entirely collapsed, there are flames coming out the back of the cathedral as if it was a torch'@charli, Journalist at France 24, at the scene of the fire. pic.twitter.com/2B0IrMiDcL
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) April 15, 2019
Update: 8:23PM in Paris
Shep Smith on Fox News just reported that Paris fire fighters are just now beginning to get water on Notre Dame nearly three hours after the blaze was first reported.
Update 8:26PM in Paris
Notre Dame Spokesman: “Entire wooden interior of cathedral is burning, likely to be destroyed. Everything is burning. Nothing will remain from the frame.”
Update 9:12PM in Paris
The fire has spread to one of the two iconic bell towers, according to reports.
Published in Culture, History
Most of the burnable structural material in a medieval cathedral is above the interior vaulting (stone) and below the upper roof (usually lead and/or copper sheets). Centuries old wood and dry as dust. Once there’s a fire established in there, getting any sort of access for fighting it, in a reasonably safe manner is going to be well-nigh impossible.
Not sure about the planes. That’s more for wildfires I think. They dump over a long area with little accuracy. But seems like helicopters could be used to take water from the Seine (Notre Dame is on an island, for those who don’t know) and dump it on the cathedral. Of course, the helicopters would have to be high enough up that their blades didn’t fan the flame and make it worse. So, I don’t know. I don’t know anything about controlling fires. But I’m shocked that Paris didn’t have a better plan.
Rush hour? What, Parisians are such jerks that they don’t get out of the way for emergency vehicles? (I mean, they don’t pick up after their dogs but I have a hard time believing they don’t get out of the way of a siren.) I lived in and drove in New York City for 9 years. I’ve been in rush hour traffic when fire trucks or ambulances had to get through. Believe me, they got through. This excuse does not make sense to me. But what do I know.
None reported so far, according to Fox.
I worry about this for my favorite cathedral in all the world, Worcester Cathedral in the English Midlands. The attic of Worcester Cathedral contains an absolutely priceless and irreplaceable collection of Medieval manuscripts and artifacts. A dozen or so years ago, Mr. She and I had the extraordinary privilege of a guided tour of same, by the Librarian, a gift from my sister who is a “Friend” of the Cathedral. It was the experience of a lifetime, but I couldn’t help but think that a fire in the roof (just the sort of situation you describe, in terms of centuries old wood, dry as dust), could be devastating.
Indeed.
Rivers are comparatively narrow and there are a lot of obstructions and obstacles (bridges, river traffic to name two). You need quite a bit of length to get down, loaded, and up again.
French authorities saying that dumping water from the sky was too dangerous because the weight of the water would itself have caused the structure to collapse.
Far too many variables for reasonable speculation but… Hot work done to modern codes (and the EU has nothing if not the latest, greatest, and most voluminous codes) would have protective measures in place. Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity but…
And the next time someone argues against sprinklers because they might cause water damage… wouldn’t you rather be fixing water damage?
Well, they would say that. Anything to excuse inaction. As is, it has not only collapsed, it has burned everything within as well. So what did they really have to lose?
We toured Worcester Cathedral about 30 years ago now. Beautiful place. Had no idea what was lurking in the attic!
One of the two iconic towers has now caught on fire.
From what I’m reading, the planes are too far away, even if they could help.
Dumping tons of water from a hundred or so feet up would’ve likely taken down the walls and supporting structures as well. Just let the wood burn and rebuild on the stone structure that survives. Notre Dame has had several major projects in the past. Most of the major European cathedrals have been rebuilt and renovated several times. There are also lots of buildings in close proximity to the Cathedral. Missing your mark with an air drop could destroy a nearby structure.
Plus,I’m not certain of the availability of air drop, fire fighting aircraft anywhere near Paris. A fire fighting barge in the river would’ve been ideal. However, as I recall (I visited the Cathedral around 30 years ago) the river is not that big.
Live coverage on German TV is showing that all of the wooden structure, the spire the main body over the basilica appears to be destroyed completely. There area several hundred firemen on the scene. From what one can see only the barest skeleton of the structure will saveable.
The press here is reporting no deaths but no report on injuries yet. Some people may have been injured. The sight of the flames through the huge rosette window was hideous and heart rending.
I was on a job once where the carpenters left a pile of sawdust in the sunlight. We all went out to lunch and came back to find the local VFD putting out a small fire that we caused. I saw a church burn because an extension chord used to light a Christmas tree got too hot. Strange things can cause fires.
Good Lord the metal scaffolding that was in place for the repairs is glowing red hot.
I hope you can go back sometime. The library alone is worth the visit. It is a lovely cathedral, in part, I think, because it’s big enough to be interesting, but small enough to be comprehended in one’s mind. My absolute favorite part of it, because I think it’s so holy, is the crypt, which dates from the tenth century. I loved our tour of the nave, which included such little gems as pointing out the carving done by the medievals, and things like the “cat” on one side of the arch, and the “mouse” running away from it on the other. Such fun. Those medieval craftsmen had a sweet and fey sense of humor. I’m sure some of that was on display at Notre Dame (which I’ve never visited). But now it’s gone.
Worcester Cathedral is also special in the annals of the English Church, because it escaped most of the depredations of that rat-[expletive] Henry VIII because his brother, Arthur (with whom I share a birthday), was buried there. On my own part, every trip to England I make includes a stop at Worcester Cathedral to visit the tomb of King John, who I think has been very badly done by in terms of history.
Here’s Dad and King John in, I think, 1999:
Rush hour? People dont move aside for firetrucks in Paris? WTF!! It’s the second most iconic building in France, put some effort into saving it. Three hours…seriously!?
In a more superstitious time this might be seen as a really bad omen. Hard not to feel like it is.
Has anyone been hurt? It sounds like no ones been killed or injured which we may consider a small mercy.
Still we should remember that Easter is the ultimate example of God turning seeming tragedy and defeat into a vehicle for limitless Grace.
The chapel at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA was destroyed by fire after incense was improperly disposed of. That stuff burns for a long time.
Maybe we need to start spraying some fire retardant foam up in these old structures over the wood. Notre Dame (darn phone keyboards) is not the only such building in Europe.
I have read that the glass is melting. Oh, how I hope that is not true.
Perhaps she was in English class with Senator Gillibrand of “tactile” missile fame. Or they skipped class together.
EDs,
All that I’ve heard from Claire is from her own twitter feed.
https://twitter.com/ClaireBerlinski/status/1117859890750316551
Regards,
Jim
I guess this technology is beyond the French?
Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâces, le Seigneur est avec vous; vous ętes bénie entre toutes les femmes, et Jésus le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni. Sainte Marie, Mčre de Dieu, priez pour nous pécheurs, maintenant, et ŕ l’heure de notre mort. Amen.
I am so saddened.
I’ve read that they considered that. I don’t know what the rationale was for “do it”/”don’t do it,” but I suppose those questions will be asked, and hopefully answered over the next few days.
I suspect all the answers will be on the line of a Gallic shrug.
So, it looks like another set of twin towers are in danger . . .