BREAKING: Notre Dame Cathedral burning

Trumps sentiment is appreciated. He was suggesting ways to save a major world historic site.

And one of the crown jewels of Christian architecture.

The frogs couldnt get a law enforcement, let alone news chopper over Notre Dame for hours.

 

but will they? that is the question we need to be asking.

 

this is right out of the jihadist playbook.

 

what political football?

 

that’s exactly what i thought when the spire fell.

 

We can only hope it was to do with the reconstruction work, because the alternative doesn't bear thinking about,

 

I wonder who this is?

 

It's not lost. The cathedral already knew the ravage of fire around 1860 and it was build back. That spire which fell already fell in 1860 and it was rised back.
In a way, I'm less worried for Notre Dame. There is a lot of century old building that disappear over time, and they fall in the forgetfullness.

Notre Dame would be build back. It's well known, it attract tourists, it can be only so. Even as a non christian, I would give money for its restauration, and many people would do so.

 

"Quasimodo! For the last time, enough with the crack in the attic, Esmeralda's and that stuff you smoke. We're going to burn in hell if you keep it up I tell ya'!"

 

• What happened: A massive blaze at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris devastated large parts of the 850-year-old church. The fire is now out, but the cathedral's iconic spire fell during the hours it took to battle the blaze.
• Macron: 'We will rebuild': Speaking from the scene, French President Emmanuel Macron described the fire as a "terrible tragedy," but added that the "worst had been avoided," promising Parisians that they will "rebuild this cathedral together."
• About the cathedral: Built in the 13th century, the medieval structure is considered a feat of architecture as much as a religious symbol. It is one of Paris' most popular attractions, drawing an estimated 13 million visitors a year.

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/areinaud/status/1117916691353067521

 

Yes. The specialists who have decades of experience (collectively, centuries or millennia of experience) fighting fires didn't think of using all the resources at their disposal. But the stable genius sitting in Air Force One was smarter than all of them, right?

Trump is a moron who thinks he is the smartest guy in the world, but he suffers from a severe case of Dunning-Kruger.

 

The project leader for the current renovations was interviewed on NPR this morning. He certainly didn't rule out terror.

 

NPR reported this morning that approx. 300 M euros had been pledged so far, and there will be sites for folks to make contributions for the rebuilding of the cathedral. This might take decades and billions of dollars. Sounds like many of the artifacts and priceless artworks were either saved or unharmed. For France this morning, a ray of hope.

 

Notre Dame cathedral has had structural problems for a long time. Some repairs in the past had resulted in doing more harm than good. In essence the structure itself was going to fail at some point which might have been disastrous had it occurred when it was full of tourists.

While the loss of irreplaceable relics is unfortunate this now provides an opportunity to rebuild the structure in a way that will last longer. It will also bring attention to all of the other great buildings in Europe that face similar structural issues.

Monuments need maintenance and that means being willing to pay taxes to pay for infrastructure. As a society we have a responsibility for the upkeep and repairs so that those that come after us can also share these amazing edifices.

 

I work in a 60 story bldg where the lobby has been under renovation construction for nearly 2 yrs. Hard to imagine we've been working thru this construction without a hitch while a priceless cathedral burns due to a construction accident. Not sure I believe thats what caused the fire in Paris.

 

The government of France was responsible for the upkeep. governments rarely do a good job at maintaining infrastructure to include national treasures. The old wooden structure that burned was probably in need of fire resistant coating but the government didn't want to spend the money. The cathedral was a fire hazard waiting to happen. Hopefully no bodies will be found inside.

 

Alright, so two things to note here

1. Priests at the Cathedral report that the art work and the holy relics contained in the cathedral have been saved.

2. Authorities have ruled out arson or terrorism as the cause of the fire

 

If they were able to rebuild the cologne cathedral they should be able to rebuild Notre Dame

 

That's true, but I didn't tell them how to do their job or how they missed a "simple solution"....like the poster I answered to. Pay attention and what seems as nonsense might actually make sense.
But in your case, maybe not.

 

Paris will heal, apparently, some posters will not.
Still sorry for your loss in 2016.

 

Exactly true and @ArchStanton sounds pretty even keeled and smarter than you on this topic as well. The French did react too slow and bungled what could have been a situation that could have saved much of the Cathedral. It's an understandable stance and view with merit.

Pay attention and you just might learn something. But that is doubtful.

 

They already are, and I will be one of them.

 

It appears to be a fire that started in the construction area off hours. I suspect it was an electrical fire caused by an unprotected or worn extension cord or power tool, that was not stored properly or inspected.

There appears to be no sign of vandalism or terrorism. The roof over the nave and choir have been destroyed as well as one of the spires. Most of the relics and icons appear to have been saved. But they are not letting people in for concern over structural issues (a problem with fires in masonry load bearing buildings).

 

I was lucky enough to go there for the first time last summer. I can hardly express my horror at watching it burn today. It truly broke my heart to watch. I am not a religious person, but it was impossible not to be overwhelmed and overtaken by something larger than myself in that place. The audacity of the structure, the history, the art, the stained glass... it cannot be overstated. The people that it survived, the ideas that it contained, the light that it held across our darkest of times. There are truly too few places that are capable of elevating humanity. The Notre Dame is by all measures one of the absolute best. By some complete stroke of luck, the day that I was there in June it wasn't crowded at all. I was able to walk around slowly within those walls and just look and feel and be there. The gravitas of the place cannot be ignored. It was truly awe-inspiring.

I also happen to be a firefighter/EMT. I guarantee it didn't take the firefighters 2 hours to arrive on scene at the Notre Dame. They are some of the most highly trained, best prepared, and brave firefighters in the world. The complexity of fighting this fire would be hard to quantify with its construction techniques, height, cultural significance, and purpose. Aerial towers and master streams in combination might have the reach to help, but fighting from the interior is not realistic with this building. The water pressure and nozzles you would need to hit ceilings a few hundred feet in the air don't exist. To his credit, Trump's notion to drop water from the air is not the worst idea given what we were watching, but it's not something that would ever be done given the force exerted by a pumpkin drop let alone a VLAT. I deploy during the summers to fight wildfires in the west and anyone who has ever seen air ops happen knows that you're never going to fly a DC10 low over Paris to do this. Those tools are used to paint entire ridge lines and it's a completely different tactic being employed. Helicopters aren't realistic either for some similar reasons and some different reasons. You're not going to hover a helicopter low over a structure to limit the force of the drop because you risk the smoke causing the turbines to stall and the visibility causing a crash. You're not going to drop from a high altitude because the force of the drop will collapse the structure. Not realistic. In any case, the fight they put on to save the bell towers was heroic and they deserve the massive praise they'll receive.

All that aside, I'm just really sad for Paris, for France, and for humanity. It will never be the same place.