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The prima-facie investigation concluded that, it was not only the peculiarity of this construction that made it difficult to douse the fire, but also the absence of sufficient fire fighting equipments and systems. This eventually jeopardized the significant area of heritage cathedral, before the fire-fighters could control the furious inferno.

The colossal oak-beams were entangled with each other in a ‘complex mesh’ that was highly difficult to enter. Over and above this, fire walls were not installed there, since the preservation designers didn’t want to disfigure wood by cutting it. On the other side, vaulted stone ceiling prevented fire-fighters from spraying water up into the attic from within. The highly complex and enormous Attic structure was made-up of extremely dry and super inflammable wood, a favourite fodder for fire.

In order to preserve the heritage look and beautiful historic structure, sprinklers or fire walls were reportedly missing from Notre Dame’s attic, where the timber and other elements burned, by choice. Electrical wiring seemingly wasn’t allowed in the cathedral’s attic to conserve its original design and to protect the lead ceiling’s timber support beams. They assumed that the ancient oak timbers would burn slowly, leaving a time-window for fire-fighting action. A perfect scenario for fire to prevail!!!

The Lead roof of attic may have hindered access further, because of which the fire-fighters may’ve had to wait until lead panels were burnt through before they could start shooting water stream from above. Because of the lack of effective and efficient fire fighting system the reaction time for the emergency was far too long, which eventually led to the irreversible devastation.

According to the US Fire Administrator G. Keith Bryant, with a building like that of Notre Dame, it’s nearly impossible for fire-fighters to attack a fire from within. He further added that, in such cases, the fire fighters need to be more defensive and don’t have option but to control the fire from the outer side.

Though there’s a lot of water right next door at the Seine River, getting it to the right place was the tough task. Surprisingly, there was absence of enough resources in terms of fire equipment, apparatus, and hoses to get that much water on a fire of that magnitude. Adding to the woes were the narrower streets, which made it difficult to manoeuvre large ladder fire trucks. European fire departments don’t tend to have as large of ladders as they do in the United States, Bryant added.

Hence, this fatal incident (rather accident) once again underlines the importance of effective and efficient fire safety system. Many such buildings and structures across world have installed hydrant and sprinkler systems, along with different types of fire-fighting cylinders. Regular fire inspections and proper maintenance fire safety systems can make our world safe and fire-proof!!!