Fire Erupts at Notre Dame Cathedral In Paris

An enormous fire was raving Monday at the well known Notre Dame cathedral in Paris as surprised crowds collected on streets, bridges and squares to watch one of  the globe’s most iconic churches burn.

The cathedral’s spire was engulfed in flames before tumbling over. Video footage from the scene showed fire and smoke spewing from the landmark, one of the world’s most popular tourist locations and house to priceless works of art. The flames seemed shooting out of the roof behind the nave of the cathedral.

The fire burned for hours, practically unabated despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters. The flames continued to glow when darkness fell.

“A special mission has been launched to try to conserve all artworks that can be conserved,” Emmanuel Grégoire, very first deputy to the mayor of Paris, said on French TV.

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There was no immediate word on injuries. Lots of tourists and others in the area tapped social media to inform good friends and loved ones that they were not hurt.

Firefighters blasted the inferno with water from trucks however did not tackle from above. Some might be seen laboring inside the structure itself. A border kept back at least a border of 3 blocks.

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” Everything is burning, nothing will stay from the frame,” Notre Dame spokesman Andre Finot informed French media.

The cause was not immediately known, but officials stated it might be linked to restoration work. The cathedral remains in the midst of a $6.8 million remodelling project.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo decried the “enormous damage” and stated a number of hundred firefighters were on the scene.

” So terrible to view the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” President Donald Trump tweeted. “Perhaps flying water tankers could be utilized to put it out. Need to act rapidly!”

French President Emmanuel Macron held off a televised speech to the nation Monday night because of the blaze.

French historian Camille Pascal told French TV the fire was destroying “important heritage.”

” It’s been 800 years that the Cathedral watches over Paris,” Pascal said. “Happy and unfortunate events for centuries have been marked by the bells of Notre Dame.”

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The cathedral renovation task belonged to an effort to save the degrading building, which goes back practically 1,000 years. Weather and contamination have actually taken their toll on the stone structure.

” Contamination is the biggest offender,” Philippe Villeneuve, architect in chief of historical monuments in France, informed Time magazine in 2017. “We need to change the ruined stones. We need to replace the joints with conventional products. This is going to be comprehensive.”

The cathedral goes back almost 1,000 years. Its building and construction started in the 12th century, and it took about 300 years to complete. The outcome is that, although it is predominantly French Gothic, there are areas that show the Renaissance and the Naturalism age of building and construction.

Still, the cathedral is widely thought about among the finest examples of French Gothic architecture worldwide. The name Notre Dame indicates “Our Lady” in French, and is frequently used in the names of Catholic church buildings worldwide.

Source: usatoday.com