BREAKING: Paris landmark, Notre Dame Cathedral, is on fire!

Soldato
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Something doesn't sound right to me either.

From Macron's perspective the timing seems very convenient. This'll give him political capital to subdue the Yellow Vest movement.

What exactly about this doesnt sound right to you?
Why does a conspiracy seem more likely than an accident as a result of ongoing renovations? As above, seems like that's when theres the largest risk of an accident happening, so I'm not sure what warrants suspicion at the moment, unless you know something we dont.
 
Soldato
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So awful :(

God I bloody hate the BBC's reporting though... they were just talking to some French minister about it and asked them "So how does it make you feel seeing the cathedral on fire like that?"... Really!? Then they talked to an eyewitness and asked "Right so you saw flames, and where were the flames?" On the Cathedral obviously... FML
Yep, some of the waffle and inane questions they ask to try and fill air time is cringe worthy. On the other hand it must be hard to chat to camera during a live event like this so it is to be expected.
 
Soldato
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yes, bad news, like the Glasgow School Of Art fiasco, why a building seems to be most at risk of fire when it's being renovated is a bit of a mystery.

Probably because they are disturbing things, have flammables on site, machinery, etc. All it takes is for someone to cut a cable and cause some sparks in the wrong place. It was never designed with fire safety in mind, and it's probably been messed about with ever since they started building it.
 
Caporegime
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Visit any building site and see the way so called craftsmen manage their working environment and it is no surprise to me.

I disagree. I've employed many guys who are absolutely fantastic and fully implement a well looked after and tidy workplace. Some do it because that's how they work. Others do it because that's how I expect them to and make them work.
 
Soldato
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The stained glass windows are being reported as exploded in the heat:

There are unconfirmed reports that Notre Dame’s three medieval rose windows – la rosace ouest (1225) la rosace nord (1250) la rosace sud (1250) – have exploded in the intense heat.
 
Soldato
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Sadly there's a slight flaw to his otherwise brilliant plan:

Top speed of Boeing 747-400 Supertanker: ~600 MPH
Distance between New York and Paris: 3,625 mi
Time for a flying water tanker to get there and put out the fire: ~6 hours
Time for the fire to destroy the cathedral: <6 hours

Also sounds totally safe over a city.
 
Commissario
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Not really. Welding. Burning. Power tools. Batteries. Paints. Preservers. Plant.

All things it doesn't have normally. All causes of or contributors to fire.
Not to mention things like temporary power cabling and lighting some of which gets very hot (I'd hope they'd be using LED flood lighting these days, but halogen site lights are/were very common).
 
Man of Honour
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Its a hell of a loss to lose something iconic like this, today we think of the hanging gardens of Babylon or the Colossus of Rhodes or the pharos lighthouse as monuments which vanished long before our time and tonight we are losing another such monument, which in centuries to come will be listed along with those previous monuments.
 
Soldato
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Over the years I’ve seen several fires narrowly missed on big projects because the guys cut corners when they’re not being watched. Welders forgetting blankets and fire watchers setting fire to their own scaffold. Guys working on wooden structures they’ve been cleaning with thinners having a fag whilst the supervisor is out of site. The standard amongst the crafts has steadily dropped for many years in my experience there are still exceptional guys com8ng through but too many lazy buggers too.
 
Soldato
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They'll fix her up, just look at the state of York Minister in the early 80's there was practically nothing left. Buildings are never more at risk than when they are either under construction or under refurbishment, its why there's such a thing as "permit to work" and "hot permits". It only takes one person on the roof working some lead to leave a burner running whilst he gets something from a box and you can ignite the roof (800 year old timber is very dry). It will take an ungodly amount of cash and time but it will give Europe stone masons something to do at least.
 
Soldato
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They'll fix her up, just look at the state of York Minister in the early 80's there was practically nothing left. Buildings are never more at risk than when they are either under construction or under refurbishment, its why there's such a thing as "permit to work" and "hot permits". It only takes one person on the roof working some lead to leave a burner running whilst he gets something from a box and you can ignite the roof (800 year old timber is very dry). It will take an ungodly amount of cash and time but it will give Europe stone masons something to do at least.

But things like the stain glass will never be original again. Some of those buildings took a lifetime to complete (by hand) too. There can't be many people left who'd even know how it's done.
 
Soldato
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Option a:
A terrible shame that such a beautiful old building is so badly damaged.

Option b:
God's to do list:
1) kill some People
2) burn down a cathedral

As someone once said... "Putting lightening conductors on churches shows a remarkable lack of faith"

I lived in Paris in the 80s and feel really really sad about this :(
 
Caporegime
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Not to mention things like temporary power cabling and lighting some of which gets very hot (I'd hope they'd be using LED flood lighting these days, but halogen site lights are/were very common).

Very true.
Coiled power cables plugged in...whoever does that should be shot and gets instantly removed from my sites.
 
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