Notre Dame

[BillyStubbsTears]

Shocking scenes from Paris. That's one of the jewels of Western architecture and engineering ablaze. Feels somehow emblematic of the way in which the certainties of the West are going up in flames.

[Dagenham Rover]

Some awful pictures,  they seem to be saying some renovation works have started it  not the first time that sort of things happened

[DevilMayCry]

sad news 

here is live video with news about notre dame:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGbmWOfdXcQ

[Geoff Blakesley]

Fabulous old historical building burning - bit like Glasgow college of art. Wonder if it will get more coverage than Grenfell ?

[idler]

An absolute tragedy. Years of rebuilding to come there.

[drfchound]

I wonder if the builders had public liability insurance.

[Boomstick]

I gather all most of the treasures are saved, and the huge rose stained glass windows are ok.
Seems like what's been damaged was already replaced in the 19th century though, could be worse.
The fire is just another chapter in that buildings fascinating history.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Astonishing job by the fire fighters. This was a fascinating read about the stuff firefighters have to consider when dealing with these events.

https://mobile.twitter.com/GreggFavre/status/1117847726786371585

Astonishing as some folk on this board might find it, firefighters have to predict what is likely to happen and make judgements to save life and property.

I know! Mad, int it? Who can possibly trust expert predictions of difficult and uncertain events?

[i_ateallthepies]

Very carefully worded statement released by the contractor in charge of the renovation works.  (paraphrasing) 'We can say unequivocally that none of our personnel were in the building at the time of the fire and that all of our procedures were followed correctly'.  It is more interesting what they didn't say i.e. that no 'hot work' was undertaken by them on the day.

Begs the question how robust their fire-watch procedures were.  And certainly, the fact that none of their staff were in the building at the time of the fire provides no indication that the fire wasn't caused by their activity earlier in the day.  A smouldering particle can take hours before generating enough momentum to start a blaze.

Bloody building contractors are almost always a damned nightmare to manage for safety.

[RedRover45]

Is there only me that is looking at this from a different angle ?
While it's obviously a shame, it's only a building, nobody died or was injured.
The thing I find abhorrent is the millions of Euros being promised by the French government and from all around the world. Would it not be more appropriate to use that money to help the large homelessness problem that exists in Paris. Surely if they wanted to resurrect Notre Dame, the Church could dip its hand in its pocket. After all, churches have a bottomless pocket.

[knockers]

Fully agree

[BillyStubbsTears]

I know where you are coming from RR and I share some of your thoughts.

But there's other drivers at play here.

1) There's a hard-headed financial calculation. Apparently 11million tourists visited Notre Dame last year. That's a lot of money working into the Parisian economy.

2) There's a psychological aspect. Buildings like Notre Dame are supposed to be permanent. They are symbols of national identity. If you allow them to vanish, it can have big effects on a national psyche.

3) Then there's the fact that Notre Dame transcends religion. It is a work of art and engineering that speaks of human ingenuity and capability. It inspires me as a dyed in the wool agnostic, just as St Pauls or the Duomo at Florence or the Sagrada Familia at Barcelona do.

I'll give you my take. Countries like Britain and France are amply wealthy enough to deal with these events AND make sure no-one is homeless and hungry. There's no reason why they should have to choose one or the other.. It just takes the will and the right people in charge.

[Filo]

Is there only me that is looking at this from a different angle ?
While it's obviously a shame, it's only a building, nobody died or was injured.
The thing I find abhorrent is the millions of Euros being promised by the French government and from all around the world. Would it not be more appropriate to use that money to help the large homelessness problem that exists in Paris. Surely if they wanted to resurrect Notre Dame, the Church could dip its hand in its pocket. After all, churches have a bottomless pocket.

I’m sure there will be insurance onthe building, so I’m not sure why they are asking for donations

[glosterred]

Wonder what the insurance premium is for a 13th century church rebuild is?