If there’s one global event that has captured the world’s attention in the past decade, certainly the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral would be in the Top 10. The world watched as this architectural wonder was consumed in smoke and flames. On April 15, 2019, we were collectively glued to our TVs and phones, awaiting the fate of this incredible and historic building. While it’s fortunate that no lives were lost, it is a tragedy in its own right. As we look at how this disaster unfolded, hopefully, we can learn some lessons to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
About 6:20 pm, on April 15, 2019, a fire in the spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral ignited. An alarm was sounded when the fire began in the attic space below the roof. In line with fire protocol at the cathedral, a guard went to perform an inspection to see why the alarm went off. Incidentally, he went to the wrong location, and as a result, the fire remained undetected.
Fifteen minutes later, those on duty realized that there had been a mistake, and indeed, there was a fire in the building. However, the fire was now a major event, not a minor disruption.
Unbelievable as this might seem, the cathedral did not have an automatic alarm system installed – meaning that the fire department was not automatically notified when the alarm went off, and an actual person had to make the call. It was 6:51 pm when the call was made. By this time, the fire had been burning for 30 minutes already.
When the fire department did arrive, it was 7:01 pm – 40 minutes after the start of the fire – and quite long enough to do devastating damage.
Greg Harrington, writer for the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) narrows it down in his blog post to 3 major factors that played a role in the tragic event.
First, precious time was lost because the cathedral was not equipped with an automatic alarm and direct notification system to alert the fire department.
The second was the unfortunate element of human error. The area that actually had the fire was never searched because the guard investigated the incorrect location.
The third factor was that more time was wasted once the fire actually was detected because a person needed to walk to the right location where he could make the call.
One significant lesson we take from this awful chain of events is that there must be automatic systems in place to address the threats of fire. This includes automatic sprinklers, fire alarms and notification systems that go directly to the fire department.
As thoroughly well-trained as staff can be, there’s always the possibility of human error. And when every second is critical when it comes to response time, we can’t leave any margin for error.
These automatic systems don’t negate the need for trained staff; however, there needs to be multiple layers of response and prevention.
One measure that is critical in fire prevention is flameproofing. Flammable materials that are treated with flame repellents become non-combustible. That means that in the event of a fire, they no longer contribute to the spread and severity of the fire. That could have made a world of difference in the Notre Dame Cathedral fire.
If your business has flameproofing needs, please call Certified Flameproofing today. We would love to talk over your flameproofing needs and provide you with a full fire prevention strategy. Give us a call and we will also offer you a free, no-obligation estimate: 800-590-5530