Fire at Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris: 856 years up in Flames
The Fire at Notre Dame de Paris and its aftermath
Just last week I wrote a detailed article on the History of Notre Dame. Read it here.
How much time does it take to completely annihilate a 856 year old icon of history?
As Monday the 15th of April showed us, it takes merely a spark.
The infamous Cathedral of Notre Dame was partly destroyed by a raging fire on the night of 15th of April. This horrific news has graced every media and news paper since. This week I’d like to pitch in with an article about the Notre Dame cathedral’s devastating fire. Notre Dame de Paris is a heritage monument. The fire is a major threat to all the history I share via this blog.
Such a fire taking place in the 21st Century might be a shock to us all. I think, we are lucky it occurred when we were adept to battle the ravenous flames.
The city of Paris, the French nation as a whole and the world at one point during the blaze, came within a needle thin distance of loosing Notre Dame de Paris forever. There would have been no trace left of this beloved cathedral.
Despite the odds, the Cathedral was saved. Was it the 400 daredevil firemen who risked their lives to save her, or was it the Grace of God? I’ll leave the answer to you.
Whatever it was, we must be grateful for the history we have.
Why is Notre Dame de Paris important?
Notre Dame de Paris has been a part of the city of Paris for 856 years. This cathedral was the idea of Maurice de Sully, the Bishop of Paris.
Imagine the number of wars Notre Dame has withstood.
I wrote about the history of Notre Dame de Paris just last week. You can read it here.
Apart from its history or rather because of it, Notre Dame is also the point where France measures its distances. So if you stand facing Notre Dame, you are at 0 km.
This added importance might explain why Notre Dame houses some of the most precious artefacts like a few Holy Relics sacred to Christians.
With these priceless artefacts come a colossal responsibility to protect them.
So when on the night of 15th of April, a fire threatened to destroy, it was the entire community hoping, the treasure could be rescued along with the cathedral, a relic in itself.
How Did the Fire Begin?
There are varying reports of the early events that took place right up to calling Emergency Services.
The Cathedral had been closed for the day. This was an omen in itself. The restoration crew had also called it a day.
Latest news reports speculate it to be a short circuit. It was definitely a spark though, that set the lower part of the wooden spire ablaze.
The Cathedral’s alarm apparently signalled. No one realised it was Notre Dame asking for help.
Others say, the fire alarm rang clear at around half past 6 in the evening.
The firefighters arrived at 6:43pm.
They soon realised the situation was severe. The wooden tower was indeed made up of oak wood, and highly inflammable.
If there would have been another delay of about 15 minutes, the Notre Dame de Paris would have been beyond rescuing.
What I appreciate is the quick thinking and the bravely of a well equipped brigade of firefighters.
They had monitors in their vans which kept a close watch on the fire.
Picture Curtesy: Antoninnnnn via Wikipedia Commons
Fighting the Fire
The fighters first had hopes of saving the red blazing spire from inside the cathedral.
They sent a robot indoors which sprayed water on the base of the burning spire.
Other set of firefighters made a human chain to rescue the priceless artefacts around the cathedral especially those in its treasury.
They quickly saved the Tunic of Saint Louis (the dress worn by King Louis IX when he brought the Holy Relics to France) and the Crown of Thorns believed to have been worn by Christ during his Crucifixion. They also salvaged a few chalices and other ancient artefacts.
Within an hour of the fire, the firefighters were loosing to the flames.
They quickly realised the spire would fall and moved outdoors to save the structure.
They extinguished smaller fires that had begun.
If you ask why they didn’t use an air pressure ventilation known to fight fire better than water, that would be because Notre Dame de Paris is an old monument. Such a change in air pressure would damage the structure more than what fire might.
See the images closely, huge water sprays were directed at the roof of the Notre Dame from all directions. Fire ruled over the water, showing no signs of respite. Excess water could also damage the old structure.
Picture Curtesy: LeLaisserPasserA38 via Wikipedia Commons
Crucial Timings
After about an hour of firefighting, the burning spire snapped into two ultimately crumbling down into the nave. There were shouts and gasps from the gathered spectators. Others sang hymns and prayed for their Cathedral.
Tension picked up further when the fire moved to the facade. It danced closer to one of the bell towers. Now if the bell tower caught fire, that meant Notre Dame would soon turn to ash.
This tower could collapse into the other and bring the walls crumbling.
The fire fighters braved their lives and climbed up to fight the flames. Their courage paid off, finally giving them an advantage.
They contained the fire in 9 hours and put it off in 15 hours.
This fight took place overnight, as a few went to bed and thousands camped out to pray for Our Lady of Paris.
The spire had burnt like a torch, brightening up the night sky. In the morning, the scene was a whole lot calmer. In Paris stood Notre Dame, without its wooden spire, but reminding the world that it had seen the Second World War.
When they opened the door and looked at the wreckage inside, everything was dark, as it is after a scene of battle. Amidst the rubble, shining with hope was the Cross and next to it, a statue of the Virgin both unhurt.
It was time to question fate again.
What was Saved?
At the beginning, there was little hope of saving anything but a few artefacts rescued early on.
With dawn came a glimmer of hope, and as Parisians came to their Notre Dame, there was their beloved cathedral, a little scalded but still standing. It was reassurance.
They carried out an audit to access the structure. The timber roof called the Arrow, was almost gone. This timber was Oak wood, now a rarity in France.
The roof over the Northern transept showed three nasty holes.
The beautiful wooden choir lost.
However looking around, there was a lot of Notre Dame still there. One of its three iconic rose windows with vibrant stained glass coloured the early rays of the sun. Its magic evident between the gloom.
The Great Organ with its medieval pipes survived almost unscathed! This Organ has been a part of Notre Dame since the 12th century. The current one was made in 1401. It has been amended by many Organists over the centuries but a few pipes are original.
16 Copper Statues which flanked the wooden spire had been removed for restoration just a week ago. Fate has a way, doesn’t it?
Along with the Crown of Thorns and the Tunic of St Louis, the Fragment of the Holy Cross and Nail, a few chalices were some artefacts they salvaged.
The large paintings were also unhurt by fire although damaged by the smoke. These paintings are due to be removed on Friday and moved to the Louvre Museum for dehumidification and restoration.
Future Plans
The Ministry of Culture and the French Government have announced that the Cathedral will be rebuilt.
If you heard the speech the French President Emmanuel Macron gave, he promised to rebuild the cathedral in 5 years.
Many experts have claimed this is not possible. Although there has been one such incident before where they restored the Minster in 5 years. It was York Minster in 1984 in England. The cathedral’s lead roof caught fire at 2am possibly due to lightning. The cathedral was in a similar shape as Notre Dame is today. Present day York Minster bares no scars and looks like the Gothic beauty it was prior to the fire.
30 years on, with more technology, we can be assured Notre Dame de Paris will be its old self again! An invaluable piece of history.
How You Can Help
The wealthy and a few companies have, as you might have read, pledged millions. There are plenty of funds, making rounds on the internet collecting from people.
You don’t need me to warn you against frauds. The French government have begun a restoration fund themselves where you can contribute via cheque, bank transfer or credit card. (Details below)
Let us hope, the cathedral once again looks down on Paris, a strong beauty and the immortal anchor of Paris.
Till then, let us learn from this lesson and respect the history we have. Take care of monuments in your country, and ask others to do so too. You never know when these precious bits of your roots vane and vanish.
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Comments
Was could it be protected the cathedral from THIS TRAGEDY?
Was could it be protected “without money”?
Was could it be protected for ~€50 million?
Was could it be spented ~€950 million for health, education and culture?
And the answer to all the questions is YES, WAS COULD!
And the answer to all the questions is “Gas Fire-Suppression System”
If in the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris some time ago It was installed “Gas Fire-Suppression System” today she It would have been intact!
It must be compulsory to have a firefighter team in location especially during restoration of such old heritage sites. Destruction of such old monuments due to fire is very common albeit not in the 21st century. We can only hope they add better technology to fight fires in the future not just in Notre Dame but all heritage monuments.