On 15 April 2019, just before 18:20 CEST, a structural fire broke out in the roof space of Notre-Dame de Paris, a medieval Catholic cathedral in Paris, France. By the time the fire was extinguished, the cathedral's wooden spire (flèche) had collapsed, most of the wooden roof had been destroyed, and the cathedral's upper walls were severely damaged. Extensive damage to the interior was prevented by the vaulted stone ceiling, which largely contained the burning roof as it collapsed. Many works of art and religious relics were moved to safety, but others suffered smoke damage, and some of the exterior art was damaged or destroyed. The cathedral's altar, two pipe organs, and three 13th-century rose windows suffered little or no damage. Three emergency workers were injured. The fire contaminated the site and nearby areas of Paris with toxic dust and lead. Notre-Dame did not hold a Christmas Mass in 2019, for the first time since 1803. Investigators in 2020 believed the fire to have been "started by either a cigarette or a short circuit in the electrical system".
Notre-Dame de Paris aflame as seen from Square René-Viviani
Interior of nave showing rib vaulting; in walls are clerestory windows (top), arches to triforium (middle), and arches to side aisles (bottom).
Underside of rib vaulting, whose thrust outward onto the walls is countered by the inward thrust of the flying buttresses. If the vaulting had collapsed, the walls could have collapsed into the nave.
Timber roof framing; vaulted ceiling lies below walkways
Spire of Notre-Dame de Paris
The Spire of Notre-Dame de Paris is located above the cross-section of the cathedral's Transept. Notre-Dame de Paris has had three timber spires made of oak, known as flèches. The first was built between 1220 and 1230. It eventually became so damaged that it was removed in the late 18th century. The second was put into place by the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1859, and destroyed in a major fire on 15 April 2019. Work to construct a third one started in 2022, and was completed when the new copper rooster wind vane was placed on top of the new spire on 16 December 2023, and the third spire was unveiled on 13 February 2024.
The second spire in 2011.
The entry of Isabella of Bavaria into Paris, from a miniature in Froissart's Chronicles, attributed to Philip of Mazerolles (c. 1470-1472)
The cathedral in the Pontifical Romain by Jean de Mauléon Bishop of Comminges (c. 1525-1530)
Notre-Dame without its spire in the 1850s (Édouard Baldus)