The 800-year-old gothic glory came within minutes of being completely destroyed. This is the story of those who saved it
At 6pm on 15 April last year in Paris, mass was getting underway at Notre Dame cathedral and the local firefighters were giving a last polish to their station, engines and equipment in preparation for a big inspection the next day. Twenty minutes later, a fire alarm went off in the cathedral. The building was evacuated and, another 20 minutes later, a fire was discovered spreading through la forêt – the forest of rafters made from 1,400 trees that hold up the massive leaded roof of the 800-year-old gothic glory. The race was on to save the storied structure and the treasures therein.
The Night Notre Dame Burned (BBC Four) tells the story of the 12 infernal hours that followed. Just about every firefighter in Paris descended on the cathedral to do battle with a fire that had already taken hold firmly, as people gathered in their hundreds and thousands in the streets around to watch and pray.
