Notre Dame cathedral is on fire!

[ithinkmycatistryingtokillme]

It's breaking on bbc news, from the pictures it's a major blaze!

Yes I'm struggling with the Far Right concerns too? Sorry to be dim but can someone clarify?

The BBC Paris correspondent is being very upbeat about it, saying he thinks it will all be ok because the structure looks solid. Doesn't look very solid to me right now.

Actually @Puzzle, they were just interviewing an expert on French tv who said the lack of qualified workers will be the number one obstacle to reconstruction.

Maybe we should ignore unspeakable people who, in some inconceivable way, might be trying to "make hay" out of this?

We definitely shouldn't be naming them or drawing attention to their drivel.

Looks like some of the inside is ok, can see the altar. twitter.com/L0rdSum/status/1117897557428953089

The stone arches have held and prevented the wooden roof from collapsing to the bottom.

I'm genuinely amazed, Boris ... considering the many excellent restorations carried out all over the country, I wouldn't have thought this beyond them, awful though it is

if a fire starts in timber in a secluded place it can spread at a low intensity, charring and flickering, over a number of hours and no one's any the wiser until suddenly it bursts out somewhere visible or something collapses. By that point, the spread is already substantial.

So if this one started in the roof space, for example, it could have been taking hold over many hours.

When Canterbury cathedral burned in 1174, that's pretty much exactly what happened. The fire started in some nearby cottages, and it wasn't realised it had got into the cathedral roof.

Thank goodness they seem to be gaining control.
So sad to see it being damaged, an old building is like an old tree, or institution. The word venerable comes to mind.

There is to be a fund, open to contributions from all French people, to help rebuild the cathedral.

A church spokesman said early on that the entire 12th century frame was on fire. I think it will be some time before any definite statements on what is structurally safe can be made. This is devastating. I used to spend a lot of time in Shakespeare and Company, hidden in a quiet corner, just reading. Je pleure.

I hope the fund is open worldwide

My guess is that it was caused by either an electrical problem or hot work in the roof , to one side of the towers .

Just heard someone on the news say they think it will take 20 years to rebuild.

Great response to Donald Trump on Twitter:

Hello dragons, I am looking for $250 million for 10% stake in my business; ‘Donald’s flying water tankers’Gully Burrows added,

So sad. I think 20 years is a conservative estimate.

It's devastating. It's almost inconceivable that we'll never be able to see it in its original glory again. I was surprised how emotional I felt, watching the clips of the spire falling. It's more than a building. It represents an ethos, a history, a place of safety and peace. I hope the brave firefighters are safe and those who are injured recover quickly.

It's just hard to wrap your head around the fact that it's stood there for almost a millennium, seen the Revolution, the Terror, two World Wars, and countless other major events, and that it can just be decimated in the space of a couple of hours on a Monday evening in April.

Just heard someone on the news say they think it will take 20 years to rebuild.

I can believe that. Just clearing the site will be an expert job, with archaeologists and other specialists supervising. It won't be a case of chucking everything in a skip. Then carrying out surveys, drawing up plans and costing it all, will probably take years. Then there's sourcing the stone and timber, gathering a workforce with the necessary skills....

There is to be a fund, open to contributions from all French people, to help rebuild the cathedral.

The catholic church already have funds to do that, it wouldn't make a dent in their wealth.

It's almost inconceivable that we'll never be able to see it in its original glory again

Well exepect it to be virtually identical to how it was apart from better alarm systems firefighting facilities and fireproofing.

As whatshername queen mary said to huddlestone watching sawston hall burning in 1553;

"ner mind i will build thee a better"

They have 3D laser maps of the entire structure. That will be an enormous help.

I so hope the firefighter makes a full recovery.

I was just wondering whether people still got married in Notre Dame (thinking that would be a bad week for you if you'd got your wedding there on Saturday) but apparently the answer is no. I googled and read this on their website in the English translation

DO WE HAVE TO WAIT IN LINE TO ENTER THE CATHEDRAL?

In ordinary times, access to the cathedral is easy and quick. Due to the great affluence of the faithful and visitors, it can happen that it may be slightly slowed down, but still reasonable (especially in summer and approaching the great liturgical feasts: Christmas, Holy Week, Assumption).

Good to know their faithful and vistors are of great affluence! They will need it.

The actual French I think is something like "due to a great influx".

www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/faq/

Heartbroken. DH proposed to me at the top of Norte Dame. what a beautiful building

Heartbroken. DH proposed to me at the top of Norte Dame. what a beautiful building

Aaah! how romantic was going to do the same atop the tour Eiffel but her indoors to be was a froggie and she hated Paris as a lot of non parisians seem to do!.