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posted by martyb on Monday April 15 2019, @08:13PM   Printer-friendly
from the they-don't-build-them-like-they-used-to dept.

The deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, said the cathedral had suffered "colossal damages", and the emergency services were trying to salvage the art and other priceless pieces stored in the cathedral. A cathedral spokesman said the entire wooden interior was burning and likely to be destroyed.

Sounds like the whole thing may go up in flames. There's a reason for modern building codes. A structure made entirely out of wood, is a huge bonfire, waiting to happen. Thankfully, at this time, there are no reported deaths.

[Update: 2019-04-16 @ 0222: The Cathedral is not "made entirely out of wood" as was suggested above. There is a great deal of stone work in its construction which can be readily seen on its Wikipedia page. I was at work when I heard news of the fire, immediately took a break, loaded the story queue on my phone, saw a story submission on the fire, and pushed it out to the community. In my haste to get the story out, I failed to notice the erroneous claim about wood construction. I apologize for the error. --martyb]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/notre-dame-cathedral-fire-today-2019-04-15/


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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @09:02PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @09:02PM (#830055)

    Yet it survived for nearly a thousand years without modern regulations. How long will a "modern" building last? I'd say that it lasted so long is a testament to the skill of the original architects and construction methods.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Monday April 15 2019, @11:52PM

    by MostCynical (2589) on Monday April 15 2019, @11:52PM (#830173) Journal

    Worse, there is a strong chance that modern repair techniques and regulations may make very old buildings more susceptible to fire and decay.

    For example:
    "Needs more ventilation" - yet has stood for 100/500/1000 years without ventilation holes

    "Needs fire retardant layer" - but this prevents airflow and causes damp and mould..

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex