Short-circuit may have caused Notre Dame blaze
Paris police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said yesterday as France paid a day-long tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark.
A judicial police official told The Associated Press that investigators made an initial assessment of the cathedral on Wednesday but don’t have a green light to search Notre Dame’s charred interior because of ongoing safety hazards.
The cathedral’s fragile walls were being shored up with wooden planks, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Investigators so far believe the fire was accidental and are questioning both cathedral staff and workers who were carrying out renovations.
The police official would not comment on an unsourced report in Le Parisian newspaper that investigators were looking at whether the fire could have been linked to a computer glitch or the temporary elevators used in the renovation work.
President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants Notre Dame restored in five years, in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which Paris is hosting. Experts have questioned the timeline, with some saying it could take three times that long to rebuild the 850-year-old treasure.
Earlier yesterday, Macron held a ceremony at the Elysee Palace to thank the hundreds of firefighters who battled the fast-moving fire at Notre Dame for nine hours starting Monday evening (local time), preventing the structure’s destruction and rescuing many of the important relics held inside. ‘‘We’ve seen before our eyes the right things perfectly organized in a few moments, with responsibility, courage, solidarity and a meticulous organisation’’, Macron said. ‘‘The worst has been avoided.’’
The cathedral’s lead roof and its soaring spire were destroyed, but Notre Dame’s iconic bell towers, rose windows, organ and precious artworks were saved.
Macron said the firefighters would receive an Honor Medal for their courage and devotion.
Paris City Hall also held a ceremony in the firefighters’ honor yesterday afternoon, with a Bach violin concert, two giant banners strung from the monumental city headquarters and readings from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
The blaze broke out during the initial stages of a lengthy restoration.
Meanwhile, workers using a crane removed some statues to lessen the weight on the cathedral’s fragile gables, or support walls, to keep them from collapsing since they were no longer supported by the roof and its network of centuries-old timbers that were consumed by the inferno. They also secured the support structure above one of Notre Dame’s rose windows with wooden planks.
Among the firefighters honored yesterday was Paris fire brigade chaplain JeanMarc Fournier, who told the Le Parisian daily he was able to save the cathedral’s consecrated hosts. The paper said he climbed on altars to remove large paintings, but that he was especially proud ‘‘to have removed Jesus’’ — a reference to the Catholic belief that consecrated hosts are the body of Christ.
An earlier report credited him with helping salvage the crown of thorns believed to have been worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, but Fournier told France Info he arrived after rescuers had already broken the relic’s protective covering.
Among others honored was Myriam Chudzinski, one of the first firefighters to reach the roof as the blaze raged. Loaded with gear, they climbed hundreds of steps up the cathedral’s narrow spiral staircase to the top of one of the two towers.
‘‘We knew that the roof was burning, but we didn’t really know the intensity,’’ she said. ‘‘It was from upstairs that you understood that it was really dramatic. It was very hot and we had to retreat, retreat. It was spreading quickly.’’ –AP