Fire out: Cathedral structure saved
French firefighters say the blaze at the Notre Dame Cathedral is fully extinguished, a day after the Paris landmark went up in flames.
They have declared the structure saved after a massive fire gutted the roof and destroyed the spire of the Western cultural icon, shocking Parisians and the world.
The huge blaze destroyed the timber roof of the Gothic building and about two hours into the conflagration, the upper part of the 91-metre spire swayed and collapsed as flames shot up.
French president Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild Notre Dame after a catastrophic fire engulfed the upper reaches of the cathedral as it was undergoing renovations.
A spokesman for Paris firefighters, Gabriel Plus, said ‘‘the entire fire is out’’ and the emergency services are currently ‘‘surveying the movement of the structures and extinguishing smouldering residues.’’
Plus said that now that the blaze had been contained ‘‘this phase is for the experts’’ to plan how to consolidate the edifice.
The blaze tore through one of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western world early yesterday as tourists and Parisians looked on aghast from the streets below.
The 12th-century cathedral is home to incalculable works of art and is one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions, immortalised by Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Some 400 firefighters battled the fire, aiming jets of water at the 850-year-old cathedral as solemn crowds watched quietly from behind police cordons.
On one side street within view of the flames, dozens of faithful kneeled and sang the Hail Mary repeatedly, punctuated by readings from the Gospels.
President Emmanuel Macron praised the ‘‘extreme courage’’ of the firefighters and vowed: ‘‘We will rebuild Notre Dame.’’
The cathedral was ‘‘our history, our literature, our imagination, the place where we lived our great moments – our epidemics, wars and liberations,’’ Macron said.
A national collection would be announced to help defray the rebuilding costs, Macron added. He earlier cancelled a planned address to the nation in which he was to announce policy measures in response to the Yellow Vest protest movement.
‘‘There is an immense sadness,’’ Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said.
Drone images had revealed a ‘‘terrible’’ situation inside the cathedral, Hidalgo said: ‘‘There is no roof any more, there’s none of that left.’’
But fire chief Jean-Claude Gallet said that the structure of the cathedral had been ‘‘saved and preserved overall’’ and its bell towers, at one point thought to be at risk, were safe.
The next step would be to cool down the building, he added.
The first photographs from inside Notre Dame, published by Agence France-Presse, appeared to show smoking wreckage on the floor near the altar.