Paris - Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, Apr 2019

[CoverMeCagney]

An even more unlikely hero has emerged: the video game "Assassin's Creed'. The video game series is known for its immaculate recreations of real-world places as its settings. "Assassin's Creed Unity" is set in Paris and an artist for the game, Caroline Miousse, told The Verge she spent two years finessing the appearance Notre Dame, down to each individual stone."

That's amazing and might well be useful to the restoration team.

(Two years though? Not sure video game players are gonna notice if there's a stone out of place!!)

 

[AliceInPain]

My interpretation ( as this is not a fire investigator or anybody close to knowing if there was a second fire at the same time) that this was poorly worded in my opinion. And if somebody was going to say something like this that there were indeed two fires that were started at the same time, it would not be coming from this American fundraising guy.

As to any fire in the north bell tower, I am assuming it was a result of the other fire moving to it.

Moo, from the linked story...

"Michel Picaud of the Friends of Notre Dame, a U.S.-based foundation dedicated to fundraising for the cathedral's reconstruction efforts, said the entire roof was destroyed."

"The fire started up near the roof top, while another fire started in the north bell tower," Picaud told NBC News. "All damage seems to be up high and did not go into the lower part of church or touch the organ or stained-glass windows."

That's two fires, starting simultaneously?

 

[Inthedetails]

Sorry to quote my own post, but had to laugh at how restoration help can arrive in unexpected ways!..rbbm.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/3d-maps-rebuild-notre-dame-fire-assasins-creed-13769593.php
"Ph.D. student Hannah Groch-Begley shared the work of art historian Andrew Tallon, who used laser scanners to create an immaculately accurate model of the cathedral."

"Tallon's models aren't even the only immaculate models we have of Notre Dame. An even more unlikely hero has emerged: the video game "Assassin's Creed."
The video game series is known for its immaculate recreations of real-world places as its settings. "Assassin's Creed Unity" is set in Paris and an artist for the game, Caroline Miousse, told The Verge she spent two years finessing the appearance Notre Dame, down to each individual stone."

This tragedy is bringing together people who aren't normally "together." LOVE IT!

jmo

 

[PommyMommy]

Workers questioned as Notre Dame fire investigation ramps up - CNN
[...]

Of the four companies contracted to carry out renovations at Notre Dame, only two companies, scaffolding firm Europe Echafaudage and art conservationists Socra, had work in progress there at the time of the fire. Neither company had workers on site when the fire broke out, CNN has learned.

[...]

Julien Le Bras, CEO of Europe Echafaudages, which received a contract to renovate the spire in 2017, told reporters Tuesday that 12 of his employees were working on the project, but that "there were absolutely no workers on site when the fire broke out, and there hadn't been for quite a while before the fire."

Mark Eskenazi, a PR representative for Le Bras Freres, told CNN the company is speaking to experts about how to take down the scaffolding and "absolutely" denies responsibility for what happened, saying that its workers had left the cathedral one hour before the fire began.

He called the fire a "crisis" for the small business of 20 workers. "They are artisans, it is a very small enterprise."

Patrick Palen, a spokesman for Socra, which was brought in to refurbish statuettes from the cathedral, told CNN that workers from the company removed 12 statues of the apostles and four of evangelists from the cathedral last week.

[...]

The reconstruction of the cathedral, whose foundation stone was laid in the 12th century, could be also be hindered by a lack of suitable materials.

According to Bertrand de Feydeau, Vice-President of the French Heritage Foundation, there are no trees in France large enough to replace the ancient beechwood beams that burned in the fire.

 

[Isabelle]

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/nortre-dame-fire-oak-wood-trnd/index.html?utm_content=2019-04-15T22:00:09&utm_source=twCNN&utm_term=image&utm_medium=social

A "forest" of wooden latticework inside Notre Dame Cathedral fueled the fire that consumed the iconic church.

Andre Finot, a spokesman for Notre Dame, said there's a risk "nothing will remain" from the frame. The cathedral's wooden frame, which primarily consists of oak, contains beams that date as far back as the first frame built for the cathedral. That frame features trees cut down between 1160 and 1170, forming one of the oldest parts of the structure.

[...]

Trees used to make the wood frame were likey 300 or 400 years old. Credit: From Notre Dame De Paris/Maurice de Sully association

[...]

And the ash of that ancient timber is what is left. Imagine the generations of people who were involved in constructing this magnificent cathedral. I wish someone would gather the ashes and hold them until something can be done with them. I would consider the ashes as sacred to those who worked their whole lives in the building of this church.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Notre Dame's rose windows in 'good shape,' building unstable, officials say

"The stone structure of the cathedral has been saved and we have ensured that all the stained glass windows that were saved," a fire spokesman said.

..."The main work that we have to do ... is ensure that it does not collapse."...

 

[Isabelle]

Notre Dame's rose windows in 'good shape,' building unstable, officials say

"The stone structure of the cathedral has been saved and we have ensured that all the stained glass windows that were saved," a fire spokesman said.

..."The main work that we have to do ... is ensure that it does not collapse."...

Good grief. I pray that doesn’t happen. The one place I have visited that filled me with more emotion than any other.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

That's two fires, starting simultaneously?

Not in my opinion. As I stated above, this is just a guy in the United States who is a fundraiser. How the heck would he know anyway so I'm discounting it and not even considering it. But that's just me. I consider the source as irrelevant as to any consideration of a theory that a fire started in two different places.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

And the ash of that ancient timber is what is left. Imagine the generations of people who were involved in constructing this magnificent cathedral. I wish someone would gather the ashes and hold them until something can be done with them. I would consider the ashes as sacred to those who worked their whole lives in the building of this church.

I agree. There will probably be a market also for the Timbers in addition to the ashes. The timing of it, around Easter, may be very significant to many people.

After 9/11 there were many artworks to memorialize the devastation...

..and also, there was a market for the Berlin Wall artifacts after it came down.

It will be interesting to follow what happens with the artifacts from the devastation as to any commercial or artist works.

Since France actually owns it, ( iirc, perhaps somebody with more knowledge here will explain how that works), it will be interesting to see how the state works with the church to make such decisions.

 

[Inthedetails]

Good grief. I pray that doesn’t happen. The one place I have visited that filled me with more emotion than any other.

I've never been there and I'm not Catholic, but I was emotional the day of the fire. It was painful to think of the place destroyed. There is indeed something special about that place. I'm glad it will still be there when I finally do visit. I'm sure it will be just as emotional with the repairs.

I'm very much enjoying learning more about Notre Dame (and frustrated with attempts to create controversies about the fire where none exist. There are enough bad things in the world that are real....no need to look for them where they don't exist. To do so is potentially as destructive as the fire itself. My opinion only.).

jmo

 

[ZaZara]

Workers questioned as Notre Dame fire investigation ramps up - CNN
[...]

Of the four companies contracted to carry out renovations at Notre Dame, only two companies, scaffolding firm Europe Echafaudage and art conservationists Socra, had work in progress there at the time of the fire. Neither company had workers on site when the fire broke out, CNN has learned.

[...]

Julien Le Bras, CEO of Europe Echafaudages, which received a contract to renovate the spire in 2017, told reporters Tuesday that 12 of his employees were working on the project, but that "there were absolutely no workers on site when the fire broke out, and there hadn't been for quite a while before the fire."

Mark Eskenazi, a PR representative for Le Bras Freres, told CNN the company is speaking to experts about how to take down the scaffolding and "absolutely" denies responsibility for what happened, saying that its workers had left the cathedral one hour before the fire began.

He called the fire a "crisis" for the small business of 20 workers. "They are artisans, it is a very small enterprise."

Patrick Palen, a spokesman for Socra, which was brought in to refurbish statuettes from the cathedral, told CNN that workers from the company removed 12 statues of the apostles and four of evangelists from the cathedral last week.

[...]

The reconstruction of the cathedral, whose foundation stone was laid in the 12th century, could be also be hindered by a lack of suitable materials.

According to Bertrand de Feydeau, Vice-President of the French Heritage Foundation, there are no trees in France large enough to replace the ancient beechwood beams that burned in the fire.

France Bleu Lorraine Nord on Twitter

#Notre Dame: "There was no hot welding or electrical work that day," says Julien Le Bras, representative of Europe Échafaudage, a Lorraine company working on the spire of the cathedral. No employees were on site when the fire broke out, he confirms.


BBM

 

[Inthedetails]

France Bleu Lorraine Nord on Twitter

#Notre Dame: "There was no hot welding or electrical work that day," says Julien Le Bras, representative of Europe Échafaudage, a Lorraine company working on the spire of the cathedral. No employees were on site when the fire broke out, he confirms.


BBM

It makes sense to me that the workers were gone by the time the fire broke out. I mean, if the fire was there before the workers left, they would've noticed it and put it out.

Just because they were gone for the day doesn't mean the fire isn't connected to their work. Out of carelessness, forgetfulness, etc., they could've left something hot behind them, something not put away properly, something damaged...and it was alighted.

I'm expecting the experts to be able to determine the origin of the fire.

jmo

 

[Inthedetails]

That's amazing and might well be useful to the restoration team.

(Two years though? Not sure video game players are gonna notice if there's a stone out of place!!)

(OT: Sometimes I think attention to detail like that is to show off to others who do the same work. In this case, showing off to other game-makers rather than to the players.)

 

[dotr]

And the ash of that ancient timber is what is left. Imagine the generations of people who were involved in constructing this magnificent cathedral. I wish someone would gather the ashes and hold them until something can be done with them. I would consider the ashes as sacred to those who worked their whole lives in the building of this church.

Crazy idea perhaps, but thinking the ashes should be collected and enclosed in wearable containers and sold to help raise funds for the church.
It may even be soothing for some...imo.

 

[Inthedetails]

Crazy idea perhaps, but thinking the ashes should be collected and enclosed in wearable containers and sold to help raise funds for the church.
It may even be soothing for some...imo.

I'd like to see them incorporated into the repairs. Perhaps a glass wall with the ashes filling the inside and visible.

Whatever the case, there seems to be some attachment felt by many people to the ashes. That says something (not sure what, but something, lol.)

jmo

 

[otto]

That's two fires, starting simultaneously?

There was one fire that started on the roof near the renovation work. That fire spread across the roof. At one point, there was concern that the fire spread to one of the towers.

 

[Gardenista]

France Bleu Lorraine Nord on Twitter

#Notre Dame: "There was no hot welding or electrical work that day," says Julien Le Bras, representative of Europe Échafaudage, a Lorraine company working on the spire of the cathedral. No employees were on site when the fire broke out, he confirms.


BBM

Hmmmm, no hot welding or electrical work that day. Check that off the list.

 

[PommyMommy]

Dozens investigating what caused massive Notre Dame fire – live updates
[...]

French newspaper Le Parisien reported that a fire alarm went off at Notre Dame shortly after 6 p.m. Monday but a computer bug showed the fire's location in the wrong place. The paper reported the flames may have started at the bottom of the cathedral's giant spire and may have been caused by an electrical problem in an elevator.

At that point, fire spread quickly from the roof near the rear of Notre Dame. In less than an hour, it engulfed the spire, which -- just 13 minutes later -- collapsed as onlookers watched in horror.

It still wasn't safe Wednesday for investigators to get inside the cathedral to search for the cause, CBS News correspondent Ian Lee reports. Firefighters have been assessing the damage.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

Air France-KLM offer free flights for Notre Dame reconstruction teams - Travelweek
Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith along with Anne-Marie Couderc, chairman of Air France-KLM and Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France, say Air France will provide free transport for all official partners involved in the reconstruction of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

[...]

Support the Cathedral of Notre Dame
[...]

The devotion of the faithful has made the Cathedral of Notre Dame a welcoming place of worship and pilgrimage for more than eight centuries, and the Cathedral will now rely on the generosity of the world to rebuild this sacred place of worship.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception encourages those whose lives have been touched by this iconic Cathedral to support the effort to resurrect and rebuild this church which has touched the hearts and souls of the world.

[...]

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

I wish the city of Paris would shut down streets in the vicinity of the cathedral on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday and have services outside for the masses that would have celebrated Christ's Resurrection mass, but no longer have a church.

The 100,000 people who would have attended services and received Holy Communion may not be able to fit inside nearby Catholic churches. I mean, that's a LOT of people to try to squeeze in smaller, nearby churches.

Like playoff soccer and hockey games, the Dioceses of Paris could set up huge video screens so Notre Dame parishioners could hear the Easter mass and see the consecration of the bread and wine. I sadly don't think this will happen. This diocese didn't set up sump pumps from the Seine to save their ancient structure in an emergency (took fire trucks 2 hours to reach the church), so they likely won't take other innovative actions to serve and save their parish, IMO.