Notre-Dame fire

A fire broke out at Notre Dame de Paris at around 18:50 local time on 15 April 2019. Notre Dame is the Roman-Catholic cathedral of Paris. It is in the center of the city. The fire made the roof and main spire fall.^[4][5] The building's vaulted stone ceiling contained the burning roof as it collapsed, preventing worse damage to the interior.

Notre-Dame fire

From Quai de Montebello with the spire aflame
Notre-Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame Cathedral (Paris) Show map of Paris Notre-Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame Cathedral (France) Show map of France
Date	15 April 2019; 6 years ago (2019-04-15)
Time	18:20 CEST (16:20 UTC)
Duration	15 hours[1]
Venue	Notre-Dame Cathedral
Location	Paris
Coordinates	48.8530°N 2.3498°E / 48.8530; 2.3498
Cause	Unknown, but suspected to be a cigarette or electrical fault
Deaths	0[2]
Non-fatal injuries	3[3][4]
Property damage	Roof and spire destroyed; windows and vaulted ceilings damaged

Around 23:00 local time, the spokesperson of the Paris firefighters said that the structure would probably be saved. This includes the north tower; at times, it was feared that the north tower would also be affected.

Over 400 people helped fight the fire. They used 18 specially built fire hoses to put water on the flames. Two police officers were injured, and one firefighter was critically wounded, who was treated in a nearby hospital.

Cause

At the time the fire was being fought, its cause was not known, but it was being treated as an accident.^[6] The investigation most strongly suspected a case of "accidental destruction by fire", but had not ruled anything out, saying it was too early to know the cause of the fire.^[7][8][9] It is not yet^[when?] known if renovation work contributed to the fire. There have been other cases where renovation-related fires smoulder for hours unseen before breaking out.^[10] The firm Le Bras Frères that was carrying out the renovations stated they had followed procedure, and would co-operate fully with the investigation. They also stated that none of their personnel were on site at the time the fire broke out.^[11]

Overview of damage

• Spire totally destroyed
• Two thirds of the roof destroyed; this includes 13000 oaks from the time the cathedral was built (12th to 14th century). This is about 21 hectares of forest.
• Some domes affected
• The statues on the roof were not present, as they were undergoing renovation
• Relics were saved
• About 90 to 95 percent of the artworks on display in the cathedral were saved
• Three large holes in the ceiling
• Several rows of pews crushed by falling debris
• Surrounding area contaminated with lead from the roof

The equivalent of 1 billion pounds was later raised online for restoration.