The preserved golden crucifix and altar within the wreckage of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
Twenty-three minutes that could have saved Notre Dame? Alarm was raised during mass at 6.20pm but staff could not find the fire until 6.43pm ….when the inferno was raging out of control
Officials attending the Notre Dame blaze initially couldn’t find any sign of fire despite the alarm being raised 23 minutes before the structure went up in flames.
Paris public prosecutor Rémy Heitz announced on Tuesday that firefighters were called to the world-famous cathedral at 6.20pm CET, almost half an hour before the roof caught fire.
But after an initial inspection they said they were unable to find any evidence of fire.
After a second alarm was raised a shortly while later, firefighters attending the scene said they were unable to stop the blaze from ripping through Notre Dame’s wooden roof structure. ADVERTISING
Mr Heitz said this evening: ‘What we know at this stage is that there was an initial alarm at 6:20 p.m., followed by a procedure to verify this but no fire as found.
‘Then, there was a second alarm at 6:43 p.m. and at that point a fire was detected in the structure.
‘The investigation is going to be long and complex,’ he added. ‘We are in the process of interviewing witnesses.’ Video playing bottom right…Click here to expand to full page
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Inferno: The burning interior of Notre Dame cathedral during the horrific blaze in Paris on Monday evening
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Heroes: Paris firefighters rush into the cathedral to tackle the blaze and save the medieval building from collapse
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A robot fires water from a hose to douse the flames in the cathedral on Monday night
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After eventually responding to the blaze, French firefighters were filmed racing into the burning Notre Dame to save the 850-year-old cathedral from destruction.
The fearless rescue team charged into the inferno with huge flames leaping across the church and sparks tumbling from the ceiling after the roof of the Paris landmark caught fire.
Firefighters battled for eight hours to contain the blaze which destroyed the cathedral’s roof and spire, but despite fears that the whole building could collapse the stone structure and iconic bell towers remain standing today.
The firefighters’ actions – and their quick deployment of a robot to hose down the cathedral – meant that priceless treasures including reputed relics of the Crucifixion and 13th-century stained-glass windows were saved from the blaze.
Today haunting new photos of Notre Dame’s interior showed debris strewn across the floor – as experts warned the damage could take decades to repair – while detectives probe the renovation work which may have led to the blaze.
The pictures revealed that a statue of Jesus descending from the cross, positioned on the altar, was preserved among the smouldering rubble after the roof was destroyed by Monday night’s fire.
The three ‘irreplaceable’ Rose Windows, which date to the 13th century and were last night feared to have melted or exploded, were also intact.