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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 6:22 pm
by k3k3
The roof, spire and stained glass windows have already been destroyed, the fire is still burning fiercely.

Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 6:27 pm
by OFSO
A terrible sight. However, Questions ! the main fire brigade station is opposite the cathedral on the bank of the Seine with fire boats - I know, I got soaked during an exercise - and they train to extinguish fires in the tall old buildings either side of the river. Likewise the French army has fire fighting equipment, land and air. So how did the fire get such a major hold ?

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:33 pm
by probes
True. What could possibly cause such inferno inside a church? It's not modern plastic stuff, after all.
Gosh.
Feels like 911.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:34 pm
by Stoneboat
Notre Dame on fire.
Monday is the start of Holy Week. If you believe in coincidences, this is a big one.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:43 pm
by boing
Actually Probes, before giving the cynical answer, I would say the interior of a cathedral provides a great natural chimney and the building is loaded with nice fabric kindling and seasoned wood which should burn very well.

The cynical answer is that the Big Boss finally got PO'ed with the hypocrisy.

.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:47 pm
by probes
Cynical or otherwise, the firefighting effort looks pathetic from the live stream. "Firefighters trying to reach..." the reporting goes. One would think there's more to it these days than 'trying to reach'.
And yeah, the beams were mentioned, and of course a spire is a great funnel.
SO sad. Just gone like that.
And no, I don't believe in such coincidences (time and timing).

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:01 pm
by OFSO
Ancient 300 year-old wood beams. Fabric. Debris from birds. Then lead starts melting and flowing. Stained glass windows fall apart. The interior wood paneling catches fire. Then the pews.... Old churches are bonfires waiting for the first spark.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:08 pm
by probes
True. I didn't think of wood.
Someone said they couldn't use aircrafts for fear of destroying the whole building with water bombs.
Doesn't look like there's much to be destroyed any more anyway.
And the suggestions it might have been the renovation work... well, sure.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:14 pm
by G-CPTN
probes wrote:
Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:08 pm
And the suggestions it might have been the renovation work... well, sure.
It won't be the first fire initiated by activities of restoration workers.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:34 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
Didn't St George's Chapel, Windsor go up the same way?
One always remembers the cartoon at the time of the Bishop of Durham allegedly questioning the Virgin Birth, showing Durham Cathedral in the background as York Minster gets the Divine bolt of lightning, and The Voice of God saying "Bugger, missed!"

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:37 pm
by probes
G-CPTN wrote:
Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:14 pm
It won't be the first fire initiated by activities of restoration workers.
No. Depends on the workers, of course.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:47 pm
by Karearea
I'm so grieved to see this destruction of part of our civilisation and heritage.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:01 pm
by probes
yes. As someone said - thousands of years of history gone in a couple of hours.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:30 pm
by 1DC
It will definitely be rebuilt, it is too much of a national treasure not to be.
I too thought the firefighting effort was poor, only one jet being used on the picture i saw.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:53 pm
by ricardian
That gorgeous 1864 Cavaille-Coll organ underwent a multi-million pound restoration in the 1990s and received a brand-new console only a few years ago. Tragic loss

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:55 pm
by G-CPTN
Dresden's Frauenkirche was destroyed by fire in February 1945 and lay in ruins until 1994. I visited the ruins in August 1990.
Rebuilding was completed in 2005.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:02 pm
by ricardian
The state will foot the bill although the Roman Catholic Church will be expected to cough up a bit of cash!

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:04 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
A very good job done on the Frauenkirche - I attended the first Good Friday service after reconsecration.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:39 pm
by Alisoncc
Suggestion "fire may be connected with renovation work" !!

Idiots with all their power tools, totally oblivious to the dangers of such in a tinder dry environment. Well remember watching this guy trying to recover some old valuable church timbers. Using an angle grinder to cut through rusted retaining bolts. Showers of hot metal and sparks going everywhere. A few dried ancient birds nests between the rafters and woof, up it would have gone.

Windy drills and the like were far safer on old airframes equally likely to go up in flames. But then again we were more intelligent back in the day.

Re: Nôtre Dame burns

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:43 pm
by ribrash
Had a walk round a few years ago. Mucho bon.