Notre Dame Fire: Cathedral Ablaze in Paris
Firefighters battle massive blaze at landmark Gothic church in French capital
PARIS—Firefighters were scrambling to control a fire that brought down a spire of Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday and caused part of the legendary Gothic church’s roof to collapse.
A column of fire from the more than 850-year-old landmark sent plumes of smoke over the city skyline.
“A terrible fire is under way at Notre Dame of Paris Cathedral,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo wrote in a Twitter posting, calling on residents to steer clear of the area.
It was unclear what started the fire. Images of the blaze on TV showed the flames rising from a section of the cathedral’s roof surrounded by scaffolding. One police official said the location of the fire suggested the flames stemmed from renovations that were under way at the church.
Notre Dame, with its gargoyles and flying buttresses, is a symbol of Paris and an annual pilgrimage site for Roman Catholics and millions of tourists. Its monumental stone walls and vaulted ceilings have withstood centuries of tumult, including the desecrations of the French Revolution when much of the religious imagery inside the church was destroyed.
Among the holy relics inside are objects believed to include the crown of thorns worn by Jesus during his passion and a piece of the cross on which he was crucified.
Construction of the Catholic cathedral, located on the Ile de la Cité in the Seine River, began in the 12th century and didn’t end until about 300 years later. Joan of Arc was beatified there by Pope Pius X in 1909. the cathedral is also known for the legend of the hunchback of Notre Dame, the fictional bell-ringer of the cathedral immortalized by Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel.
In the wake of the 2015 terrorist attacks on Paris, authorities created a security perimeter around the cathedral and its facing square, where visitors are subject to bag checks.
“Like all of our compatriots, I am sad this evening to see this piece of us burning,” President Emmanuel Macron tweeted, after canceling a major policy speech and going to the scene of the fire.
“So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!” President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Paris’s city hall, the Hotel de Ville, just across the Seine River from the cathedral, to watch helplessly as the blaze consumed the roof and other pieces of Notre Dame.
“It’s unbelievable to think how centuries are going up in smoke,” said Hugh Dutton, a British architect who has lived in Paris since 1982 and was among the several hundred people gathered in front of Paris’s city hall to watch the blaze in horror. “It really hurts to see this. I’m in shock.”
Margaret Van Steenlandt also there, watching the flames silently, her hand squeezing the shoulder of her partner. She said a cry rang out from the crown in front of city hall as the spire fell to the side and disappeared inside the building.
“There was a sense of disbelief,” she said. “Seeing it burn down like this is devastating.”