A Guide To Our Notre-Dame Fire Coverage - The New York Times

A Guide to Our Notre-Dame Fire Coverage - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/world/europe/notre-dame-cathedral...
EUROPE | A Guide to Our Notre-Dame Fire Coverage
A Guide to Our Notre-

Dame Fire Coverage
By Christine Hauser
April 19, 2019
The fire that ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on Monday left a scarred
skyline that one of the French capital’s most iconic structures has graced for
centuries. Gone is the cathedral’s soaring, delicate 300-foot spire, which collapsed in
the flames. The cathedral’s wooden roof is now blackened and charred.
In the aftermath of the fire, a reckoning has begun into the cause of the blaze and
how it could have spread so quickly through the historic building.
Here is a guide to some of our coverage of the devastating blaze.
Planners Underestimated the Risk
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Debris inside the cathedral on Tuesday. Amaury Blin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Benjamin Mouton, the architect who oversaw the design of the fire safety system at
Notre-Dame, acknowledged that officials had misjudged how quickly a flame could
spread through the cathedral. The system was based on the assumption that the
ancient oak timbers in its attic would burn slowly.
Also, the fire alarms did not notify dispatchers right away. Instead, a guard at the
cathedral first had to climb a steep set of stairs to the attic. Only after a blaze was
discovered could the fire department be notified and deployed. That means there
was a built-in delay of about 20 minutes, and then firefighters would still have to
climb to the attic with hundreds of pounds of equipment to battle the flames.
How did the fire start?
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The New York Times
The cathedral, which was under renovation, was encased in a web of scaffolding
before the blaze broke out. It started in the attic, a remote space above the
structure’s arches where dry wood beams formed a combustible lattice. The source
of the fire was likely near the spire, but its cause has not been confirmed, though it is
believed to have been accidental. It could have been caused by an electrical problem
or human error.
A 3-D interactive model created by The Times explores the progression of the
destruction through the structure, which had a smoke detection system but no other
basic fire safety measures.
500 Firefighters Battled the Blaze
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The fire at Notre-Dame destroyed its spire and most of its wooden roof.
Vanessa Pena/Associated Press
Notre-Dame is in the center of the city on a small island called Île de la Cité, which
may have made it more difficult for firefighters to reach.
For nearly five hours, about 500 firefighters battled the blaze. By 11 p.m. in Paris, the
cathedral had been “saved and preserved as a whole,” the fire chief, Jean-Claude
Gallet, said. The cathedral’s two towers had been spared, but two-thirds of the roof
was destroyed.
“The worst has been avoided even though the battle is not completely won,”
President Emmanuel Macron said, vowing that the cathedral would be rebuilt.
But the spectacle of flames leaping from the cathedral left the country stunned, as
pictures of the fire and its aftermath reflect. The landmark of medieval Gothic
architecture built in the 12th and 13th centuries is visited by about 13 million people a
year.
The Soul of France
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The damage, seen from above. Gigarama.Ru/Gigarama.ru, via Associated Press
For many, the cathedral is the heart of Paris. France is a fundamentally Roman
Catholic country, and Notre-Dame is also a place that combines the secular, the
sacred and the profane.
The structure is among the places in Western Europe most visited by tourists, and is
“embedded into popular culture,” said François Heisbourg, a French analyst. It
features in Victor Hugo’s work, of course, but also in films and the animated musical
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
A Plea for Solidarity
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President Emmanuel Macron vowed to rebuild the cathedral within five years.
Christophe Petit Tesson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Mr. Macron, who has faced an uprising against his pro-business government, asked
French citizens to come together and move beyond the divisions that have wrenched
the country during months of violent street protests.
He called for national attention to be focused on the project of rebuilding the

cathedral, vowing to restore it within five years. The government has said it would
organize an international architecture competition to design a new spire.
Donations poured in from around the world, including from some of France’s
wealthiest families. In the days after the fire, individuals, companies and institutions
had donated or pledged 845 million euros, about $950 million, to rebuild the damaged
cathedral. But the spectacle of the country’s wealthiest families trying to one-up one
another quickly intensified resentment that had flared during the Yellow Vest
protests over economic inequality.
Priceless treasures were saved

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Among the relics saved were the crown of thorns said to have been worn by Jesus.
Philippe Wojazer/Reuters
The relics and artwork that firefighters had scrambled to save from the fire were
transferred first to Paris City Hall and then to the Louvre museum for safekeeping.
Firefighters also said artwork that remained in the cathedral appeared surprisingly
well preserved.
Among the central figures in the effort was the Fire Department’s chaplain, Rev.
Jean-Marc Fournier. He guided his colleagues through the many chapels and alleys
of the burning cathedral and told them what to save first. Among the objects they
saved were the crown of thorns said to have been worn by Jesus, the tunic of Saint
Louis and a piece of wood and a nail believed to have been part of the cross used in
the crucifixion.
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A Guide to Our Notre-Dame Fire Coverage - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/world/europe/notre-dame-cathedral...

EUROPE | A Guide to Our Notre-Dame Fire Coverage