Notre Dame was 15 minutes from the collapse of the historic fire

A report from Paris firefighters obtained by minutouno.com It reports on the operation involving 600 Parisian firefighters (400 in the cathedral and 200 in logistics and command) and another 20 municipalities to extinguish the reported fire at 18:45 (French time). At age 21, the tension was "at its highest level".

The spire of the cathedral fell 45 minutes after the detection of the fire and resulted in "several stone arches" in the main nave, causing "an almost total fragility of the structure"It forced firefighters working inside the building to pull out so they would not be hurt.

While a team of firefighters attacked the fire from the roof from hydraulic platforms 50 meters high, another unit – staffed with a chaplain – went to the hospital. inside the cathedral. save the treasures of our lady: the crown of thorns and the tunic of San Luis, which were transferred to the mayor of Paris.

"Around 9 pm the fire threatened dangerously to spread through the bell towers from the cathedral. The tension was at its peak. The north tower houses the bells. The tenor weighs 13 tons, "said the Paris firefighter about the subject of 2.62 meters in diameter at its base.

"If the bells fell under the action of fire, the towers would inevitably collapseThat's why, once the Treasure was found, the main objective of the operation was to save the Notre-Dame facade with its stained glbad windows, its iconic rose window and the monumental organ located just below.

"Despite the danger, the commander decides send several teams down the stone stairs of the north tower when the structure threatens to collapse at any time, "reported the firefighters newspaper in Paris. risky by the smoke, heat, fire and instability of the structurebut his success would preserve the cathedral.

At 9:45, the fire had stopped moving. The bells were no longer in danger, the towers would not collapse. "The worst was avoided for 15 minutes. The brigade saved Notre Dame", says the report, although the roof of the main nave and the transept have collapsed.

The collapse of the stone arches inside the Gothic cathedral prevented the arrival of firefighters on the roof, but managed to access with a robot fire mouth through the entrance door to act from below.

At 10:30 pm (French time), the fire is under control and at 11:30 pm, the bells are no longer a problem: firefighters continue to make three fires in what is left of the roof.

The the fire was considered "extinguished" at 2 am Tuesday, April 16th. Only two police officers and a firefighter were injured or affected by the heat throughout the operation, which lasted five hours, and were treated at the Hôtel Dieu hospital in Paris .