Breaking news - Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on fire

[South Austin 52,431]

My first trip to Paris was November 2017.  I was just about two hours off the plane, shaking off the travel exhaustion, and my first ever walk in Paris with my wife took us by Notre Dame.  It was truly magnificent to see it in person, and I was looking forward to re-living that moment at the end of April when we return to Paris.  This is just so fucking sad.  

[Hook1997 5,351]

Damn this sucks, the art and history lost.  Terrible!  It’s about to be dark and that’s not going to help with saving what they can.  That’s a lot of scaffolding, they were doing a huge project on it.

[mdmost 42,997]

Police think nothing will remain except for the stone. 

[EuroHorn 3,250]

I've visited multiple times.  Although the last time I saw Notre Dame go down in flames was in 2016

[Rimbo 25,908]

Yeah, we can see that.  

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

1 minute ago, mdmost said:

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

All of those old cathedrals are.  The stone work will survive, but just awful.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,507]

22 minutes ago, mdmost said:

 

There is a bit of hyperbole here.  The Nazis could have destroyed if they wanted.

 

[thunderlounge 7,813]

From the live feed just now (paraphrased), "Nothing expected to survive that isn't stone."

 

 

46 minutes ago, Vito Andolini said:

Heading to Paris for the first time in three weeks, I guess this is no longer on the list

 

The Crypte archéologique is well worth a visit. Especially if you're really into Roman history. http://www.crypte.paris.fr/en/crypt

It's at the north end of the big square on the north side of ND.

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

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....

 

Same here. Absolutely gut wrenching to see.

[clapclapclap 9,000]

nvm

Edited April 15, 2019 by clapclapclap

[AUS-97HORN 11,756]

1 minute ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

There is a bit of hyperbole here.  The Nazis could have destroyed if they wanted.

 

Hitler ordered Paris to be burning when they were forced to retreat. He actually called the German Commander of Paris, asking him, "Is Paris burning?"  The commander to his credit, felt that the city was too important to burn for no militaristic purpose and he ordered his men to surrender without following Hitler's orders

['stache 21,789]

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.
 

Forget it, he’s rolling. Seriously, what an absurdly stupid comment from the fucking president of the United States.

[mdmost 42,997]

Police are evacuating the entire island Notre Dame sits on. 

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

Evacuating the entire Ile de la Cite.  Shit.

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

51 minutes ago, LongestHorn said:

Fire appears to be linked to renovations. 

That's what the Illuminati want you to think.

[TexArcher 37,761]

5 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

There is a bit of hyperbole here.  The Nazis could have destroyed if they wanted.

 

But they didn't.

So IF this is terrorism, it was literally perpetrated by people worse than Nazis.  Hard to even wrap my mind around that.  I'm going to just hope this is some horrible, tragic accident, like an electrical fire during renovations or something.

Edited April 15, 2019 by TexArcher

[wood 11,225]

People don't realize that it takes a while to get helicopters and tankers mobilized and dumping retardants on a fire, even if there happen to be any nearby, which there may not be. They could be hundred of miles away.

[Sbbruin 21,826]

1 minute ago, TexArcher said:

But they didn't.

So IF this is terrorism, it was literally perpetrated by people worse than Nazis.  Hard to even wrap my mind about that.  I'm going to just hope this is some horrible, tragic accident.

[GabrielsHorn 2,183]

I wonder if they were able to get out some of the relics from the church as well. I know the church claims to have the crown of thorns and a piece of the cross, both of which are irreplaceable. 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23,367]

Just now, TexArcher said:

But they didn't.

So IF this is terrorism, it was literally perpetrated by people worse than Nazis.  Hard to even wrap my mind about that.  I'm going to just hope this is some horrible, tragic accident.

If terrorists pulled this off without killing anyone I’d still have to give the Nazis the advantage as far as evil goes. 

[Brisketexan 105,043]

Yeah, this one just makes me want to puke.  I felt similarly when the Taliban blew up the giant Buddha statues -- just watching a priceless work of our greater humanity being destroyed, and being helpless to stop it, just fucking sucks.

[thunderlounge 7,813]

Just now, GabrielsHorn said:

I wonder if they were able to get out some of the relics from the church as well. I know the church claims to have the crown of thorns and a piece of the cross, both of which are irreplaceable. 

All the items in the treasury, most likely gone. Not to mention everything else, and all the things that the general public aren't made aware of.

[Don Johnson 4,752]

Just now, GabrielsHorn said:

I wonder if they were able to get out some of the relics from the church as well. I know the church claims to have the crown of thorns and a piece of the cross, both of which are irreplaceable. 

If that stuff isn't kept in a fireproof safe, then......

I'd hate to think my neighbor takes more care of his shotgun than the church does of the crown of thorns.

[clapclapclap 9,000]

Notre Dame was open to the public until 6:45pm.  French fire officials say the blaze started at 6:50pm.

https://6abc.com/paris-officials-notre-dame-cathedral-on-fire/5251285/

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

Just now, clapclapclap said:

Notre Dame was open to the public until 6:45pm.  French fire officials say the blaze started at 6:50pm.

https://6abc.com/paris-officials-notre-dame-cathedral-on-fire/5251285/

That is pretty fucking convenient.

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

1 minute ago, thunderlounge said:

All the items in the treasury, most likely gone. Not to mention everything else, and all the things that the general public aren't made aware of.

Agreed.  Just a massive loss.

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

2 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

All the items in the treasury, most likely gone. Not to mention everything else, and all the things that the general public aren't made aware of.

Tom Hanks will figure it out.

[SmokeyTheBear 5,562]

2 minutes ago, clapclapclap said:

Notre Dame was open to the public until 6:45pm.  French fire officials say the blaze started at 6:50pm.

https://6abc.com/paris-officials-notre-dame-cathedral-on-fire/5251285/

Possible that renovation work would start after closing of the building? 

[WashHorn 121]

My wife and I got back from our Paris trip three weeks ago. For our last night we took one last stroll to the cathedral and were surprised to see a choir practicing some hymns just outside the front doors. There were only a few people around, so it felt like a private concert just for us. My wife is a weeping mess right now.

[Celery Man 20,929]

i made a joking sopranos reference but... got damn.  what a tragedy

[BlueGreySky 1,002]

Tragic.

['stache 21,789]

From the live feed just now (paraphrased), "Nothing expected to survive that isn't stone."
 
 
 
Same here. Absolutely gut wrenching to see.

What’s the primary material burning? In my complete ignorance I figured it was mostly stone.

[Hawndoh 2,386]

When I first saw the headline I was kind of excited. Then I realized they weren't talking about the school in Indiana. Then I was bummed. 

[Okie State 3,804]

Absolutely horrible. Never got a chance to see it either.

[GRHorn 105]

What a horrible loss. How can they let one of their national monuments burn to the ground? Yes, it’s on an island, but it’s really just gonna burn itself out. Damn 

[Hawndoh 2,386]

Fire is powerful. They didn't "let" it happen. It just happened. 

[GabrielsHorn 2,183]

8 minutes ago, Don Johnson said:

If that stuff isn't kept in a fireproof safe, then......

I'd hate to think my neighbor takes more care of his shotgun than the church does of the crown of thorns.

Last time I was there, a lot of their relics are out for veneration. Same with the bones of Saints. 

Would be a huge loss for all of that to go up in flames. 

[BlueGreySky 1,002]

1 minute ago, Hawndoh said:

When I first saw the headline I was kind of excited. Then I realized they weren't talking about the school in Indiana. Then I was bummed. 

Fuck you.

[TexArcher 37,761]

Just now, GRHorn said:

What a horrible loss. How can they let one of their national monuments burn to the ground? Yes, it’s on an island, but it’s really just gonna burn itself out. Damn 

What can they do?  They can't fight it from the inside and look at those walls.

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

2 minutes ago, Okie State said:

Absolutely horrible. Never got a chance to see it either.

This.

I've seen some cool shit and wanted this to be on a future list. Fuck.

[mdmost 42,997]

1 minute ago, 'stache said:

What’s the primary material burning? In my complete ignorance I figured it was mostly stone.

Wood. The entire frame is wood. 

[Captain Ron 12,862]

2 minutes ago, 'stache said:

What’s the primary material burning? In my complete ignorance I figured it was mostly stone.

Most of the inside of the place is wood, flooring, pews, alter, etc. And as many have said here, much of the wood is ancient and dry. It can probably go up quickly.

 

Having been through there, this is a total tragedy.

[Armybrat 40,815]

At least my son & two grandsons got to tour the cathedral 5 years ago. Mrs. Brat & I were supposed to visit Paris last summer, but unfortunately that trip was cut short after she broke her arm at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and we came home early.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

The chimney effect,  a structure like that only intensifies the fire. Stone structure, and uber tall walls topping out with a wood structure. I'm a little surprised there was no sprinkler system installed in the upper portions of the structure.

Edited April 15, 2019 by Onboard 2.0

['stache 21,789]

I saw it 15 years ago, even saw a daily service. Hope I still have the pictures somewhere.

[Telegraph_it 3,357]

Just now, 'stache said:

I saw it 15 years ago, even saw a daily service. Hope I still have the pictures somewhere.

I am trying to find the pictures I took during Christmas mass. 

[hayden_horn 11,362]

truly tragic. what a massive cultural gut punch.

[GRHorn 105]

4 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

What can they do?  They can't fight it from the inside and look at those walls.

I don’t know I’m not there. I’m just surprised they haven’t been able to get it under control. How often do we see a massive building burn completely nowadays? Much less one of such importance. 

[Texas_Rocks 346]

That density of that scaffolding looks like it might displace a lot of water before it hits its target.

[Brisketexan 105,043]

At this point, the structural integrity of the stone structure seems pretty questionable.  We might lose the whole thing.

[Trey3216 15,343]

Just now, Brisketexan said:

At this point, the structural integrity of the stone structure seems pretty questionable.  We might lose the whole thing.

I'm afraid that's the case.  The flying buttresses, which support the weight of the roof and the internal wooden frame, will eventually collapse inward and take the stone structure down.