With centuries-old wood and no fire safeguards, Notre Dame's attic burned quickly

Notre Dame cathedral engulfed in flames on Monday.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Thierry Mallet)

When the first fire alarm went off at Notre Dame cathedral on Monday evening, a staffer checked the most vulnerable part of the entire structure, the attic, and was relieved to see no flames, Paris prosecutor Rémy Heitz said Tuesday.

That didn't last. Within 23 minutes, the attic was ablaze. Known as "the forest," the attic was full of wooden beams from trees cut down between 1160 and 1170, and over the centuries, they became extremely dry. The cathedral has gone through restorations, but firewalls and sprinkler systems were never installed in order to protect the design of the structure. It was also risky to add electrical wiring to the forest. "Everyone knew that the attic was the most fragile part," Pierre Housieaux, president of the Paris Historical Association, told The New York Times.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.