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Notre Dame cathedral is on fire!

DonH56

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Just use a search engine to watch on your favorite news feed. Unbelievable, and unbelievably horrifying.
 

daftcombo

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Yes, it is a few hundred meters from my place, I can see the smoke from my balcony.

Sad, but lots of people lost an eye or an arm due to french police during yellow vest demonstrations during the last weeks, and I think it was a lot worse to be honest.
 

Tarzan

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Very sad, I was only in Paris 2 years ago and didn't get to go there. :(
 
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DonH56

DonH56

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Yes my wife went there many years ago but we did not on our European trip a few years ago. Always planned to go back... I think there was a large fire there back in the 1800's maybe? Vague memory, but I don't think it was as severe (not sure on that).

Yes, it is a few hundred meters from my place, I can see the smoke from my balcony.

Sad, but lots of people lost an eye or an arm due to french police during yellow vest demonstrations during the last weeks, and I think it was a lot worse to be honest.

Sad, heartbreaking for many, it is a symbol of many things to different people. A friend who is (was) French said that when he grew up outside Paris that the cathedral, much more than the iconic Eiffel Tower, was considered the real heart of Paris(?)

Turning a tragedy into a political statement just seems wrong although I realize that is The Way Things Are anymore.
 
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Ron Texas

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Probably caused by a careless workman.
 

amirm

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I was amazed that it was burning and burning with no attempt to put it out. Then saw a few people on the balcony next door with a garden hose. Finally the fire truck came with a better water cannon. Why so long? Why not a helicopter with some fire retardant?
 

SIY

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I was amazed that it was burning and burning with no attempt to put it out. Then saw a few people on the balcony next door with a garden hose. Finally the fire truck came with a better water cannon. Why so long? Why not a helicopter with some fire retardant?

From my best buddy, a retired fire captain: "Looks like the fire started in the attic, where they were doing renovations. Based on the fire load, the age of the timber and the point of origin, this was a done deal before the first engine ever left the station. " So helicopters on the outside would do close to zero good.
 
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DonH56

DonH56

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BBC commented on that as well (how long it took fire trucks to get there). A couple of sites reported trucks were caught in traffic, and that boats were also considered, but apparently the biggest problem was the inability to reach that high and inside the structure. Hopefully modern fire suppression will be included in the rebuild.
 

Blumlein 88

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Reports are the stone vaulted ceiling is mostly intact and prevented the fire from doing major damage inside. Early and who knows what the final damage may end up. As bad as it is, it could be worse. The vaulted ceilings were stone for just this reason as other fires in other churches were not unknown. So among other things it looks like the vaulting served its purpose.

Hopefully the stained glass and other art wasn't a total loss.

When I was there years ago, my companions didn't like that I noticed the lines of the vaulting weren't straight. They thought I was picking apart a special place. It was just an engineer's curiosity. I wondered if it was slightly zig zag when originally built or had become that way over the years. Either way considering how old it was and how it was built the structure was as impressive as beautiful.
 

Sal1950

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I think there was a large fire there back in the 1800's maybe? Vague memory, bt I don;t think it was as severe (not sure on that).
Don, I had no idea you were that old. :eek:
 

Willem

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It is sad, but not unusual that restauration work, especially on roofs, causes such fires. There are enough examples. We had a monument fire prevention expert on Dutch TV last night and he said such buildings basically cannot be protected once a fire has started. There is just too much dry material. All you can do is prevent a fire from starting. So the fact that they managed to put out the fire at all is quite an achievement.
As for the fire brigade, remember this is a very tall building and the fire started high up on the roof.
The biggest and most obvious damage is likely to be to the medieval carved wooden interior and the stained glass. I was there only last December, and the idea that this is all gone is just to hard to think about.
See here for some latest news and comnents by firemen: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/15/europe/firefighters-notre-dame-intl/index.html
 
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daftcombo

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Turning a tragedy into a political statement just seems wrong although I realize that is The Way Things Are anymore.

Who are you to decide what is a tragedy and what is not?
What do you know about french politics & mobs?
Cathedrals can be re-built. Eyes & hands can not.

The fire is stopped now.
 
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PierreV

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I was amazed that it was burning and burning with no attempt to put it out. Then saw a few people on the balcony next door with a garden hose. Finally the fire truck came with a better water cannon. Why so long? Why not a helicopter with some fire retardant?

There was a ton of experienced firefighters commenting on TV, as you can guess.

Aerial drops or external heavy handed sprays of any kind were out of the question for stability issues: the fear was massive collapse (in case of Canadair drops) or chain reaction (in the case of more targeted drops). On top of that, there was a risk for adjacent buildings.

Apparently, the fire was mostly fought from the inside.

Here's a link to a US pro discussing those issues https://twitter.com/GreggFavre (below the pinned link).
 
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DonH56

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DonH56

DonH56

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Who are you to decide what is a tragedy and what is not?
What do you know about french politics & mobs?
Cathedrals can be re-built. Eyes & hands can not.

The fire is stopped now.

So it was not a tragedy to you? I don't know anything about French politics and mobs, have enough trouble keeping up with USA politics and mobs on a 70-80 hour workweek. But I can empathize with what seems like a tragedy to me if not to you or anyone else. In any event it is clear we have virtually nothing in common so I shall endeavor to not respond to your posts, sorry. - Don
 
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