A Disaster to Remember
May 4, 2019
On April 15, a tragedy happened in the capital of France. The Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire. The church had been standing for over 800 years, it took over 200 years to build as well. Due to the Cathedrals height the fire left the structure unstable. Overall, the fire destroyed the attic, and the lead roof creating gaping holes in the ceiling leaving the buildings interior dangerously exposed. Contradicting what some people may think, the fire was not a terrorist attack. It is believed that an electrical short circuit is most likely what caused the devastating fire that blazed through the historic Cathedral. Although it was reported as an accident things like firewalls and sprinkler systems were reportedly missing from Notre Dame’s attic, where the fire started. Authorities are still investigating the fire as an accident but are taking the cathedral’s outdated fire-prevention safeguards into consideration.
The french president, Emmanuel Macron, hopes that the country can rebuild the Cathedral within five years. Not many people believe that the reconstruction will not be completed within the time frame that the president hopes. There is also a lot of controversy about the rebuilding of the church. Many people are arguing that the amount of money citizens have donated to the church could have gone towards more important projects, like cleaning the oceans. CHS students had their own thoughts about the topic and this is what they had to say, “I think it would have been more beneficial for everyone if the richest of people would’ve donated towards more important things like cancer kids or cleaning trash from the oceans and wildlife refugees” stated freshman Hunter Smith.
In conclusion, the French President hopes the Notre Dame will re-open within five years in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Although these are the hopes it is very unlikely because it took over two decades to structure the Cathedral.
Contributions By:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/world/europe/notre-dame-fire-investigation.html
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/05-06/notre-dame-de-paris/
