Breaking news - Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on fire

[Celery Man 20,929]

You know, Quasimodo predicted all this.

[Surly Bevo 24,908]

Terrible, simply terrible..looks like too much to contain at this point

[wood 11,225]

1 minute ago, Trey3216 said:

Damn, there's fire tornadoes coming out of that roof.  They ain't putting this out anytime soon.  

Yeah even multiple elevated master streams wouldn't do much on a fire like this one, and that's IF they could even get close enough to be effective. Most American ladder trucks only extend to about 105', and  they tend to be smaller in Europe.

[McCroskey 1,504]

Visited here last year.  Awful...can't really understand why the fire brigade doesn't seem to be doing anything though I obviously know nothing about fighting fires like this.

[bigup2dahorns 3,343]

That's horrible. 856 years old. 

Same as Armybrat?

[mdmost 42,997]

 

[McCroskey 1,504]

2 minutes ago, wood said:

Yeah even multiple elevated master streams wouldn't do much on a fire like this one, and that's IF they could even get close enough to be effective. Most American ladder trucks only extend to about 105', and  they tend to be smaller in Europe.

Thanks.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

Wow..

[CooterBrown 18,001]

17 minutes ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

Damn I was just at Notre Dame four hours ago. I saw they had scaffolding erected all around where the fire is. I’m guessing it was flammable solvents or a short circuit or something along those lines. That is very bad news. I feel lucky to have seen it just before it burned. 

Sounds like something the TxTow of church fires would say...

[South Austin 52,431]

1 minute ago, mdmost said:

 

It doesn't look like she's surviving this. 

[Texas_Rocks 346]

It sure doesn’t look like they’re going to be able to do much other than let it burn.

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

This is absolutely heartbreaking.

[Rimbo 25,908]

4 minutes ago, mdmost said:

 

F

[wood 11,225]

If you've ever been to Notre Dame, you know it's not just tall, it's spread out with a very big footprint. Access  to the fire has to be a massive problem with this fire. You don't just bust in the front door and start spraying water on a fire like this one. The handlines likely wouldn't even reach all the way in to the fire, and ladder trucks probably can't reach it because it's in the middle of the building.

I'm certain the FD there has pre-fire planned this building to death and know exactly what their challenges would be in a fire just like this one, and unfortunately now that's all being demonstrated very clearly.

[Longhornfan1024 1,707]

I bet Disney feels real bad about that hellfire song right now.

[clapclapclap 9,000]

https://www.newsweek.com/spate-attacks-catholic-churches-france-sees-altars-desecrated-christ-statue-1370800

CATHOLIC CHURCHES ARE BEING DESECRATED ACROSS FRANCE—AND OFFICIALS DON’T KNOW WHY

BY BRENDAN COLE ON 3/21/19 AT 9:04 AM EDT

 

France has seen a spate of attacks against Catholic churches since the start of the year, vandalism that has included arson and desecration.

Vandals have smashed statues, knocked down tabernacles, scattered or destroyed the Eucharist and torn down crosses, sparking fears of a rise in anti-Catholic sentiment in the country.

Last Sunday, the historic Church of St. Sulpice in Paris was set on fire just after midday mass on Sunday,  Le Parisien reported, although no one was injured. Police are still investigating the attack, which firefighters have confidently attributed to arson.

Built in the 17th century, St. Sulpice houses three works by the Romantic painter Eugene de la Croix, and was used in the movie adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown....

[midtown 3,345]

That thing is going to burn basically to the ground.

[wood 11,225]

2 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

This is absolutely heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, sometimes that's really all that can be done. Surround & drown. Make sure the fire doesn't spread to other structures or hurt anyone else.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,367]

I hope they have a good insurance policy 

[mdmost 42,997]

Police have reported no deaths so at least everyone got out before it went up. 

 

Edited April 15, 2019 by mdmost

[deadshank 24,652]

Has @Quasimofo posted today?

[El Diablo 4,232]

Any chance of this thing spreading to South Bend?

[wood 11,225]

Damn, there's a crew shooting a handline on it. Not gonna do much. 

[DFWTexEx 276]

This is truly heartbreaking.  Can't remember when an incident like this has provoked such a visceral response.

[Patricio Swayze 17,058]

Well, some black metal band just dropped their mixtape.


Seriously, very tragic though. Was there in 1998 but wasn’t able to go in.

[SmokeyTheBear 5,562]

Firemen on the roof but wont make a dent at this time. 

[Telegraph_it 3,357]

Terrible.

[wood 11,225]

3 minutes ago, thestud said:

It’s already jumped the shark. Sending anyone inside at this point is tantamount to premeditated murder. They’re gonna have to lob water at it from outside of the collapse zone (which won’t do shit).

Yep. This one's gonna burn til there's nothing left to burn.

[TexArcher 37,761]

This is fucking horrible.

Obviously we don't know the cause yet, but IF this is terrorism, holy shit, I can't even imagine France's response.

I really hope there's some other explanation.

[Wally Pryor 5,261]

Ugh.  Just so sad. 

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

I know jokes are de rigueur here at Surly, but this is absolutely awful.  Forget for a minute that this is a church.  This is a 900 year old work of art that is burning, never mind all the artifacts that are going to be lost inside.  

[Telegraph_it 3,357]

This angle looks really bad.

 

 

[mdmost 42,997]

2 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I know jokes are de rigueur here at Surly, but this is absolutely awful.  Forget for a minute that this is a church.  This is a 900 year old work of art that is burning, never mind all the artifacts that are going to be lost inside.  

Agreed. I like this site but some of you can be massive dicks at times.

Firefighters are trying to get artifacts and artwork out. 

Edited April 15, 2019 by mdmost

[TexArcher 37,761]

Just now, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I know jokes are de rigueur here at Surly, but this is absolutely awful.  Forget for a minute that this is a church.  This is a 900 year old work of art that is burning, never mind all the artifacts that are going to be lost inside.  

Indeed.  I don't share their faith, but that building is a monument to western civilization and one of the greatest works of art ever created. 

[Moby Ric 2,058]

1 minute ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I know jokes are de rigueur here at Surly, but this is absolutely awful.  Forget for a minute that this is a church.  This is a 900 year old work of art that is burning, never mind all the artifacts that are going to be lost inside.  

Agreed.  One of the most iconic buildings in all of Europe, if not the world.  Very sad.

[bigup2dahorns 3,343]

I bet Disney feels real bad about that hellfire song right now.

So I guess the chick from Frozen is busy?

[gecko 1,104]

Getting water on it now

[Pato del Muerto 52,484]

25 minutes ago, wood said:

Tankers on a structure fire? Never heard of it being done before, but who knows? One big problem with tankers on buildings is that the falling water doesn't just instantly 'aerosolize'. Water is very heavy and could easily damage the building very badly all by itself. You also have to take into consideration the firefighters and other workers on the ground. People have been injured or even killed by water drops in forest fires.

 

Water from a tank plane would knock the thing down. 

[wood 11,225]

Not getting much water on it even with that master stream. 

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

They are saying the entire interior structure is on fire.  Christ.

Edited April 15, 2019 by PenelopeWitherspoon

[Brisketexan 105,041]

Well, this just makes me fucking sick.  Damn.

[midtown 3,345]

Truly tragic and its not like they could even consider rebuilding it. 

[wood 11,225]

1 minute ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Water from a tank plane would knock the thing down. 

Probably not.

[mdmost 42,997]

Yeah, CBS News brought up that this could spread across the street. The pathway between Notre Dame and the buildings near it is a very tiny street. 

[McCroskey 1,504]

I took this picture among others during my visit last year. Hard to believe it’s all in ruins now.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

I have been fortunate enough to visit it multiple times.  I have a lot of good memories of Notre Dame.  I am absolutely sick right now.  If it comes out that this is arson....

[CHEF DIESEL 126]

Holy Smoke!

[Telegraph_it 3,357]

Wife and I attended Christmas Mass at the cathedral in 2015. We waited in line for a few hours to make sure we could be inside. I am extra thankful we got to experience that now, and I'm not even Catholic. 

[ChickenSandwich 9,824]

Hope it’s just an accident and not terrorism. 

Tragic. 

[mdmost 42,997]

I mean it's a tinderbox given all the antique wood inside. Altars, woodwork, just lots of highly flammable items.