Notre Dame is now stabilised, says official

paris — Architects and construction workers have now stabilised the damaged structure of Notre Dame cathedral, four days after a fast-spreading fire ravaged the iconic Paris building, and firefighters will leave the site on Friday night, a fire brigade spokesman said.

“There is no more risk the edifice’s walls could fall down,” LtCol. Gabriel Plus said, adding that firefighters have been able to cool down the walls and debris from the roof inside the cathedral.

“It’s a miracle that the cathedral is still standing, and that all the relics were saved,” he said.

Earlier, the cathedral’s rector said a “computer glitch” may have been behind the rapidly spreading blaze that devastated the 850-year-old architectural masterpiece.

Rector Patrick Chauvet did not elaborate on the exact nature of the glitch. “We may find out what happened in two or three months,” he told a meeting of local business leaders.

The fire burned through the network of enormous centuriesold oak beams supporting the monument’s vaulted stone ceiling, dangerously weakening the building. The surrounding neighbourhood was blocked off as stones continued to tumble off the sides of the cathedral after Monday evening’s devastating blaze.

The newspaper has reported that a computer glitch might have misdirected firefighters responding to the initial fire alarm. The unsourced report said investigators are also looking into whether the fire was linked to temporary elevators being used in a renovation that was underway at the time the cathedral caught fire. —

There is no more risk the edifice’s walls could fall down. It’s a miracle that the cathedral is still standing, and that all the relics were saved Lt-Col. Gabriel Plus, A fire brigade spokesman