Notre Dame fire: Cathedral blaze 'being treated as an accident' as firefighters continue to fight flames – as it happened

Devastating moment Notre Dame cathedral spire topples over into bed of flames during huge fire

The Notre-Dame in Paris has been devastated after a fire ripped through its roof and burnt large parts of the cathedral.

The medieval roof of the cathedral was almost entirely destroyed but photographs from inside show that much of the structure remained intact, after an hours-long firefighting mission.

One firefighter was reported to have been seriously injured in the blaze. The sacred objects and artwork stored in the cathedral were secured.

Emmanuel Macron has committed to rebuild the cathedral, and has promised an international fundraising effort to restore it to its previous state.

While the cause of the fire is still unclear, authorities said they were believed it to have been started by accident.

Follow our latest live blog here or recap our previous coverage of the fire below

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Key Points

• Spire collapses as entire frame of cathedral is ablaze
• Fire may be related to renovation work, though no cause has yet been found
• Police say no fatalities yet reported and there is no reason to believe blaze was not accidental
• Emmanuel Macron cancels planned speech

[15 April 2019 22:29 · Andrew Griffin]

Firefighters will be working through the night to cool the building with water. But there is a clear sense that the worst is over.

[15 April 2019 22:44 · Andrew Griffin]

Macron, speaking outside Notre Dame, has committed to rebuild the cathedral. International help will be sought to do so and there will be a fundraising campaign, he says.

While what happened is clearly a terrible tragedy, the worst was avoided, he says.

[15 April 2019 23:04 · Andrew Griffin]

Here's some detail from Press Association about how the fire might have spread and what it means for architecture:

Notre Dame Cathedral's huge wooden rafters were probably engulfed by flames before the roof collapsed onto the stone vaults below, historical novelist Ken Follett has said.

The building's spire and much of the roof were completely destroyed in the fire which continued to rage through Monday night.

Best-selling author Mr Follett, who has researched cathedrals extensively, told the Press Association: "The only thing that's flammable in a cathedral is the rafters in the roof, but they are huge pieces of wood - tree trunks - and they are old and they are very dry.

"That's what must have burned first, because nothing else in the structure is really flammable.

"When the roof timbers burn then the roof itself falls, it collapses without support.

"That then falls on the ceiling, which we should more properly call the vaulting."

He added: "That vaulting is made of stone, but it's very thin stone, mortared together, and when the debris from the roof falls, all of the vaulting collapses."

Mr Follett, whose book The Pillars Of The Earth is about the construction of a cathedral, said the building has been "the centre of Paris" since it was built in 1163.

He described it as having a "place in the hearts of Parisians, French people and a lot of Europeans".

The author expects the cathedral will be rebuilt, adding: "I imagine that the French will rebuild this cathedral and if there's anything left they will incorporate what's left.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking because they will rebuild it but you know you can go into a medieval cathedral and touch the stones and you know they have been there for hundreds and hundreds of years."

Ben Derbyshire, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, described the blaze as a "tragedy".

"The news of the tragedy this evening is of immeasurable significance worldwide," he said.

"The loss of the roof and spire of Notre Dame, and possibly the stone vault too, is an irreplaceable blow to the heritage of French Gothic architecture.

"Our heart goes out to the people of France, and to lovers of our shared cultural heritage wherever they are."

[15 April 2019 23:24 · Andrew Griffin]

After an earlier tweet in which he offered suggestions to firefighters, Donald Trump has posted a less complicated expression of support to the French people.

[15 April 2019 23:29 · Andrew Griffin]

This picture, shared by a journalist from Le Monde, claims to show the inside of the cathedral. Much of it is destroyed, but the altar and its cross remained intact.

[15 April 2019 23:31 · Andrew Griffin]

The fire is still burning, she notes. But these images are considerably less shocking than they might have been.

[15 April 2019 23:35 · Andrew Griffin]

Macron tweets to say much the same as he did in his earlier speech.

"This cathedral Notre-Dame, we will rebuild," he writes. "Everyone together. It is a part of our French destiny. I commit to this: from tomorrow a national fundraising will be launched, and well beyond our borders."

[15 April 2019 23:38 · Andrew Griffin]

A message from the archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit:

"Dear friends," he writes. "As we speak, it appears that the towers on the front of Notre Dame are saved. The entire diocese was praying and I have joined the young people who were praying at the fountain of St Michael. Let us stay more united than ever, in hope."

[15 April 2019 23:50 · Andrew Griffin]

More pictures are emerging from inside the cathedral, which looks much less badly damaged than many might have feared, but is in an awful state.

[16 April 2019 00:24 · Andrew Griffin]

Donations are already coming: French billionaire (and Salma Hayek's husband) François-Henri Pinault has said he will contribute 100 billion euros to the reconstruction work.