Fire: Notre-Dame and Forbidden City

Last week, massive fire at France's Notre-Dame cathedral destroyed a substantial portion and raised certain pertinent questions deserving serious answers. This is a more than 800 year old building which was being renovated, and during the renovation work it caught fire. This is unbelievable. The renovation work caused more damage than it really helped restore. Given the modern technology of firewalling, fire alarms, sprinklers, etc., it is quite surprising that the fire engulfed almost the whole building in a short period.

After what has been reported in the media, this is, however, not so surprising. The budget within which the renovation work was being done was less than $10 million – equivalent to about Rupees 70 crore, just enough to buy a semi-luxury sea-facing flat in Mumbai – a pittance considering the mammoth job which was supposed to be done. Any good and reputable firm undertaking the renovation work would not at all be interested in doing it, and if some firm had accepted to do it, shoddy work and cutting corners could easily have been anticipated. And, this is precisely what had happened. No proper and modern safeguards seem to have been taken.

Also, the fire alarm system, as detailed in media reports, could at best be described as belonging to ancient times and woefully inadequate. There were no sprinklers as their installation would have damaged the oak-wood attic, which was full of very old oak wood enmeshed like a forest. The fire alarms were installed but a guard had to climb up the steep staircase leading to attic – which even a fit person would take at least 6 minutes to climb – and physically confirm the fire and thereafter call the fire fighters. A delay of six minutes could be hugely damaging. There was a delay of 31 minutes, as after the first fire alarm, the guard did not physically find any fire, and it was only after the second fire alarm that the guard again inspected and called the fire fighters. By that time, fire had engulfed the attic and other parts of the cathedral, and it was impossible to nip it in the bud.

There were no firewalls to segregate the oak-wood attic, to retain the beauty and not disturb the original look. But, that is precisely the challenge in keeping old and important buildings safe from fire – proper systems at place with original look retained. The Forbidden City in China is predominantly made of wood, and its biggest enemy, obviously, is fire. In this about five-century old city, the residents had to be well prepared for fire-fighting. Strict protocol was in place for each and every such measure. As fire was used for lighting in the buildings of the city, stringent conditions were in place to ignite, regulate and extinguish the fire. Vats – large tub-like containers – filled with water were kept at strategic places in the entire city. A big challenge was freezing of water in vats during winters. To be ready for action any time, small fires were burnt under the vats to prevent water from freezing. Fire to fight fire! This was the level of preparedness hundreds of years ago. It is not as if there have been no fires in the Forbidden City, but in the recent times the extent of damage has been very low.

With all the cutting-edge technology available today, it is incomprehensible that why the fire-detection system at Notre-Dame depended on a guard, and that too with the least delay of six minutes. Had there been a little more seriousness in fire prevention and fire detection, there wouldn't have been such a massive fire possible at Notre-Dame. Who is to be blamed for this? Clearly, the committee overseeing renovation work is responsible for the fire, and the government is responsible for not taking adequate precautions for fire safety. The way it all had been planned and the way renovation work was going on, something drastic was waiting to happen. Fire experts are surprised that it didn't happen earlier.

The amount of money which is pouring in from all quarters after the crisis is befitting for a structure like Notre-Dame.

The author is a professor at IIM-A