# Notre Dame on fire **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 15, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584 "2019-04-15T17:24:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/41 "2019-04-15T19:46:59Z")
I heard a correspondent note that there were no fatalities, no injuries. That in itself is miraculous if true. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/42 "2019-04-15T19:51:25Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Why? It’s a French/religious building; why should other countries contribute towards rebuilding it. There no humanitarian crisis, like thousands displaced due to a hurricane. It’s a site significant to human culture as a whole, not just of France. > [@](#): > > We have enough of a backlog to fix in this country as it is, & I’m sure many/most other European countries do too. Oh, really, there’s a backlog, is there? How unfortunate for you. And us. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/43 "2019-04-15T20:02:40Z")
Basical the Cathedral was undergoing substantial renovations. This resulted both in: > [@](#): > > Religious statues set atop Notre Dame Cathedral have come down for the first time in over a century as part of a restoration of the monumental Paris church’s towering spire. A 105-yard crane lowered the copper statues representing the 12 apostles and four evangelists onto a truck, giving the public a ground-level look for the first time on Thursday. The figures regular posts look over the Paris from Notre Dame’s 96-meter-high peak. The 3-meter-tall statues are being sent to southwestern France for work that is part of a $6.8 million renovation project on the cathedral spire and its 250 tons of lead. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-paris-notre-dame-renovation-project-20190415-story.html](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-paris-notre-dame-renovation-project-20190415-story.html) and > [@](#): > > Reuters Paris bureau chief Luke Baker tweets that authorities are attributing the fire to ongoing renovation work: > > ``` > Fire at Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral was started by accident and is related to ongoing work, according to France 2, citing police. Either way it is terrible and a hideous blow to the symbolic heart of the city > — Luke Baker (@BakerLuke) April 15, 2019 > > ``` > **[Notre Dame Cathedral Is on Fire: The Spire Has Collapsed, but the Towers Will...](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/04/notre-dame-fire.html)** > > Almost the entire roof of the famed cathedral is engulfed in flames. We had a discussion a few months ago about the Glasgow School of Art fire which also destroyed an extremely important architectural building–all because the workers were careless. [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=857002](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=857002) This sounds like the same situation here. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/44 "2019-04-15T20:04:22Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > It seems that the whole interior has burned, except for the bell towers. > > There were wooden beams and paneling dating back to the 13th century, and it must have been extremely flammable. > > An irreparable loss, not only to France but to the world. Damn…and I’ll bet that wood that is 700 years old is pretty dry and very flammable. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/45 "2019-04-15T20:12:19Z")
CBS reporting that the whole of L’Ile de la Cite is being evacuated. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/46 "2019-04-15T20:12:45Z")
I’m sure the building and grounds are insured. Earlier, CNN did a closeup of a turret, upon which several FFs stood, presumably trying to figure out what to do next. It appears that the FFs’ main focus was on preventing the fire from spreading, and then putting it out would be next. Old buildings are great to look at, but modern fire codes exist for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/47 "2019-04-15T20:19:02Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > There are reports that the fire has now spread to one of the towers. > > As for “all the art and relics were saved” - I don’t believe that for a second. Some of the more portable items may have been removed in time, but a huge amount must have been lost. The latest report (3:15 PM CT) is that they are still trying to save as much of the artwork as possible, but the north tower is in danger of collapse and the great bell of falling. If it was my call: the buildings can be rebuilt - but save the historic artwork at all costs. I reserve the right to change my opinion on this if there is a chance that the fire can spread, in which case, “they’re just paintings,” but save the surrounding area at all costs. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/48 "2019-04-15T20:22:15Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s a site significant to human culture as a whole, not just of France. Yes, but it’s interesting that the French are less inclined to spend money on fixing it than Americans are. [“André Finot, a spokesman for Notre Dame cathedral believes the bulk of the money will need to come from the Americans, millions of whom know Notre Dame and who are less hesitant than the French about giving money to the church. “People don’t want to give money because of laïcité,” he says, referring to the strict secularism that infuses French law.”](https://sspx.org/en/news-events/news/notre-dame-cathedral-paris-crumbling-paid-admission-inevitable-fix) That link is to a story from last year about the needed renovations to the Church, and where the money for the current renovations is coming from. The funding to repair the fire damage will probably come from similar channels–the bulk of which will be Americans. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/49 "2019-04-15T20:25:13Z")
There are still 400 firefighters trying to contain the fire, and they’re saying it’s not certain they can save the remaining parts. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/50 "2019-04-15T20:26:50Z")
CBS reporting that a Paris Fire Department spokesman says that nobody went into the building after the fire to save anything. It was already far too dangerous as the roof was already starting to buckle. ETA: They are just saying that they would risk their lives to save lives, but not risk a human life to save artwork. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/51 "2019-04-15T20:31:43Z")
I feel awful about this, That building is a work of art, no matter whether you have any kind of religious feelings. The Episcopal congregation I belong to suffered a devastating fire in 1975, all that was left of the cathedral sanctuary was the stone walls, But it was rebuilt. It took three years to complete the initial work, and get it into usable condition, and then another fifteen to gradually add things like stained glass, extra organ workings, and so on. But it looks beautiful today. I wonder if the rose window at Notre Dame was destroyed? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/52 "2019-04-15T20:32:54Z")
The sirens sometimes sound like wailing bagpipes or horns, making it an eerie watch. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/53 "2019-04-15T20:33:21Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > “flying water tankers” Civil authorities are reporting that water drops would destroy even more so everything but tankers are being used. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/54 "2019-04-15T20:34:19Z")
I’ve been watching this on TV. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/55 "2019-04-15T20:35:04Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > CBS reporting that a Paris Fire Department spokesman says that nobody went into the building after the fire to save anything. It was already far too dangerous as the roof was already starting to buckle. > > ETA: They are just saying that they would risk their lives to save lives, but not risk a human life to save artwork. “Nobody”? Or just no firefighters? It could have all been removed before the firefighters arrived. Also, I wonder if maybe it was already removed due to the renovations. Maybe it was better to remove the artwork, than to risk putting plastic drapes over everything only to have a falling hammer or paint brush destroy a priceless work of art. So it’s possible that the previous reports of all artwork and relics being safe, and the Fire Department’s statement that nobody entered the burning building to save anything can both be true. Let’s hope. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/56 "2019-04-15T20:37:18Z")
Not a big fan of religion, but buildings like this are a testament to what humans can do when they want to. Yeah, today we could probably knock something like this together in a year or so but the bulk of Notre Dame went up over 800 years ago. 800 years is beyond the ken of a non-native American. Oldest Whitey-built thing here is, I think, Puerto Rico’s Cathedral of San Juan Bautista ca. 1521. ND was already 260 years old. Out here in Colorado there’s not much of any Whitey stuff older than 200 years. And the oldest man-made thing here, the longest-lived thing out here dreamed up by the Pueblos, is the cliff palace in Mesa Verde National Park. Guess what. Depending on how you look at these things, the first iteration of ND is STILL 30 years older than that, AND ND has been in constant use, surviving wars, industry, and countless pilgrims since it was built. For perspective, think of things Europe didn’t have when most of ND was completed in 1260: scientific method, the black plague hadn’t happened yet, concept of “zero” as a number wouldn’t be relearned for another 300 years, coffee, 78 rpm records… Really, just about anything that makes us who we are today didn’t exist when ND went up. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/57 "2019-04-15T20:43:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The just reported that all of the art work and a good part of the antiquities have been saved. There’s no way in hell they could have saved the stained glass, and if the belltowers burn the bells go, too - they might have saved the portable art and the sacred paraphernalia, but they did not save all the art work. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/58 "2019-04-15T20:43:12Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’m sure the building and grounds are insured. … > > Old buildings are great to look at, but modern fire codes exist for a reason. That wins the prize for the most inane comment of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/59 "2019-04-15T20:47:19Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’m sure the building and grounds are insured. :smack: How do you insure an 800-year old building that’s larger than a football field and the literally irreplaceable artwork inside. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584/60 "2019-04-15T20:50:06Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > :smack: > > How do you insure an 800-year old building that’s larger than a football field and the literally irreplaceable artwork inside. Allstate? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notre-dame-on-fire/832584.md?page=4)