Notre Dame Cathedral was very fragile and could not withstand a wind of 90 km / h – 26/04/2019



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This is no longer the fear of rain as it is protected by a false ceiling. The fear is now in the wind and a very strong storm, like those that can reach Paris at the moment. Notre Dame Cathedral it would not withstand winds of 90 km / h because its structure was reduced and affected by the monumental fire of ten days ago.

The conclusion is that of Paolo Vanucci, a specialist in mechanics, who is familiar with the cathedral. He measured a 60% decrease in the resistance of the cathedral to the wind. Previously, I could withstand winds of up to 220 kilometers at the time. The high temperatures on the stones and their braces have damaged their resistance.

"The structure has changed.A part of this structure no longer exists, the roof has disappeared as well as part of the vault.This collapse of part of the vault has caused very significant damage to the balance of this Gothic building, "explained Paolo Vanucci, professor of mechanics at the University of Versailles. He used a digital model to do these simulations.

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According to Vanucci, who conducted a fire risk study at Notre Dame in 2016, "the speed of the critical winds that could sustain the cathedral was 220 km / h, now it's only 90 km."

The expert warns that a "violent storm in the current state may mean the fall of the upper part of the walls that support the stained glbad windows". But he specifies that they are simple working hypotheses because, as far as the structure is concerned, it has not yet been evaluated.

"Our Lady has lost her resilience, the vault has been exposed to high temperatures and the stones and corsets have been damaged," Vanucci said.

The weakening of its structure must be evaluated by specialists before any work begins. Water and fire had debilitating effects. But also corrosive, which can persist or manifest in the stones in the long term.

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One of the main priorities is to evacuate water and accelerate drying. To save Our Lady Firefighters used thousands of gallons of water, which damaged their walls and wood from the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Work began this Friday.

After the climbers covered their roof with nylon to temporarily protect it from the rain, the forensic police began its work on Thursday. An operation that can last several days because they are the ones who will look for the causes of the fire.

No one is scrapped as responsible and this includes employees and roof repair workers and his needle. For the moment, it was about a human error that to ignore when the alarm was triggered on the computer and they ignored it because they did not find the fire at first sight. They will also investigate the seven cigarette butts found on the roof.

Finding the causes of the disaster that has moved France and the world is its fundamental task. Only ten days after the fire, the police were able to enter the cathedral to conduct an inspection, take samples and release the entire building. Before that was absolutely insecure.

Human error? Neglect of the workers in charge of the renovation of the lead needle and the roof? A short circuit in the electrical installation that has not been modernized or adapted to the 21st century? A short circuit in the elevator, which had put the company that repaired the roof, to lift the materials? All tracks are under study.

The criminal brigade, the judicial investigators and the experts from the central laboratory of the Paris police headquarters will be able to begin their work just now. They could not do it on April 25 because the water and the stability of the building put them in danger.

"They will look at all areas of interest, areas of greater interest to less involved sectors, but everything will be badyzed," said Guillaume Groult, deputy national secretary of the police forensic union.

First mission? Photograph each space of the cathedral to find a working hypothesis in this disaster. The investigation has already found seven cigarette butts on the roof work of the cathedral.

The spokesman of the company Le Bras Frères, who badembled the shutters of the cathedral, acknowledged that his workers were smoking on the roof because it was very difficult to go down the 100 meters high once they were mounted . But he ruled out any connection with the fire.

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Another hypothesis to study isWhy the fire alarm of the computer has not been taken into account, which rang at 6 and 20 o'clock in the afternoon. The fire had already begun but those who had gone to inspect it had not seen it on the roof, where it appeared in the form of coal and without burning, on the thirteenth century oaks.

The biggest problem that researchers will face is the disappearance of evidence by the water. The main drawback of every fire is despite the precautions of the firefighters. The other is the contamination of the scene by the number of people who participated. At one time, there were 400 firefighters at Notre Dame per shift.

The forensic police warn that their progress will depend on the security with which their staff can work on the scene.

Jacques Perot, director of the Observatory of religious heritage, said that it is necessary to be cautious at the moment but that "it is serious" that the workers have smoked on the roof. "When there is work, it is when a monument is more vulnerable.You must review the rules, especially when workers leave, because these accidents occur," he explained.

Another problem was the intruders, who climbed onto the roof taking advantage of the repair work and the formwork infrastructure that they left behind. Before the fire, that afternoon, a man had managed to climb the iron structure until he was evicted and interrogated by police. The fire of Notre-Dame officially began at 18:50, after the departure of the workers at 17:30.

Paris, correspondent

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