The spire of the Gothic cathedral in the city of Rouen, France, is being hit by a fire that has now been brought under control by local authorities, who have confirmed that there are no victims.
“The fire is under control,” the Seine-Maritime department prefecture said in a message on social media, adding that firefighters were carrying out “active surveillance of the building.”
In addition, specialized teams have been called in to analyze heritage and works of art to determine whether the fire or the water used to extinguish it may have caused damage, the department’s prefect (representative of the central government), Jean Benoit Albertini, told reporters.
The fire started for unknown reasons around noon (local time) on a platform where restoration work was being carried out, surrounded by white tarps, at a height of about 120 meters.
The thick black smoke was reminiscent, to varying degrees, of the serious fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in April 2019.
Rouen Archbishop Dominique Lebrun said the fire started in an area where workers decontaminate themselves after finishing work, local media reported.
Lebrun added that there were no casualties, although some workers suffered smoke inhalation.
The fire apparently affected the construction platform, but not directly the tower, which is made of cast iron.
Several firefighting units arrived quickly, with around 70 people working to put out the fire, and the square in front of the cathedral was closed to the public.
“A fire has broken out in the tower of Rouen Cathedral. The origin is unknown for the moment. All public resources have been mobilized,” announced the city’s mayor, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, on X, at the start of the alarm.
Rouen Cathedral is a Gothic building that was built in successive phases between the 13th and 15th centuries.
The 151-meter tower that caught fire dates back to the 19th century, when it was rebuilt in cast iron after the original wooden tower was destroyed in a fire caused by lightning.
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