Notre-Dame’s close call: the inside story
The New York Times “conducted scores of interviews and reviewed hundreds of documents” for a long article about the Notre-Dame fire. It started with a human error: when a fire warning light flashed, the guards checked the wrong building. As a result, the fire department was not called for half an hour. When firefighters arrived, shortly before 7pm, the cathedral was engulfed.
After an hour of battling the flames, the spire fell. At 8.30 Jean-Claude Gallet, head of the Paris fire brigade, told officials including President Macron: “In 20 minutes, I’ll know if we’ve lost it.” In other words, Notre-Dame could have collapsed, the northern tower falling first and bringing the south tower down too. It was saved by the bravery of a few firefighters.
