![]() “From the beginning, there was always the possibility that the whole structure might collapse.” While armchair critics have suggested more could have been done to slow the fire, tough choices had to be made, said Plus. “That was really our fear,” said the senior officer, who acts as the fire brigade spokesman. “Imagine if the woodwork in the belfries had been weakened, the huge bells would have collapsed” and that and the priority we gave ourselves was to save the two bell towers, and both were saved,” he added. “Time and the wind was against us and we had to get on top of it fast. Lieutenant-Colonel Gabriel Plus of the Paris fire brigade said that “everything was against” the first firefighters who had to battle the French capital's evening rush-hour to get to the scene on Monday. “If a plane had been used the whole of the structure might have tumbled.” “The nave would have collapsed, the flying buttresses would have gone,” he said. With more than 500 firefighters already at the scene - many within the building - that would have been impossible.Įven using a helicopter to drop 1,500 litres of water would have left only the towers standing, Bernier insisted. “Neighbouring buildings would have been hit by flying blocks of hot stone, and the whole area would have had to be evacuated.” 'Might have tumbled' In fact, dropping a 6,300-litre (1,664-gallon) load from a Canadair water bomber would have put the lives of firefighters and anyone in the area at risk, he added. It was technically impossible, undoable and most of all would have been utterly useless” to douse the flames from the air, Bernier added. “It would have been like bowling with the cathedral. Releasing even one load from a Canadair water bomber used to fight forest fires on Notre-Dame would be “the equivalent of dropping three tonnes of concrete at 250 kilometres per hour (155mph)” on the ancient monument. “Everything would have collapsed,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Bernier, a fire chief who speaks for the national civil defence organisation and who described the suggestion as “risible”. Must act quickly!” But doing that would have brought the ancient cathedral crashing down, French fire chiefs told AFP Tuesday. “Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. As Notre-Dame in Paris burned, US President Donald Trump tweeted some advice to French firefighters. ![]()
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