I realise the risks with sprinklers and the very high cost of their instalations - but surely a simple dry riser to a few strategic jets - fed by water from the fire brigade could be a fast response solution where high reach appliances take a long time to be deployed and may not be high enough.
Imagine a pipe on the roof to act as a big sprinkler - early deployment would have killed the fire. Cost - some pipes.
It does seem strange that old buildings like that don't have some form of sprinkler or dry riser fitted to meet current fire safety laws. And at least all the pipework would be hidden in the space above the stone ceiling and wouldn't be on show to disfigure the appearance.
It would have been ironic if part of the modernisation work that was carried out had been to install such a dry riser.
There was an interesting interview on inside Science about the problem of wooden buildings this last week. Incidentally, my screenreader says. notra Dame as in panto. Brian
In an American accent ?
That would be No-ter Daym, wouldn't it?
I don't think "a few strategic jets" is as simple as it sounds. You need widely distributed sprays, plus good drainage routes for the inner stone vault.
newshound snipped-for-privacy@stevejqr.plus.com> wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@brightview.co.uk:
It could provide a safe area for firefighters to work from - coupling their hoses to the pipes to direct water more strategically. We had the situation where the firefighters were having difficulty getting to the ideal height.
Apparently the french firefighters prefer to attack the fire from inside the building anyway, which might explain why they appeared to have few aerial platforms in use on the night.
Nightjar snipped-for-privacy@bignell.me.uk> wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
...and there are no longer loads of forests of Oak Trees to build was ships.
I visited the roof space on Lincoln Cathedral a few years. The tour cost £3 and was possibly the best £3 ever spent. Similar general age to Notre Dame again with a wooden framed roof made from huge oak beams. To ensure they have suitable beams for renovation work, they have unused beams ageing in the roof space ready. They've been buying them whenever they had money and such wood was available. Of course a fire in the roof space would destroy their own spares too.
If you get the chance, it's well worth visiting.
Thus cancelling out the foresight of acquiring them. It's a like having your backups on site ....
I wonder if there's business potential in offering storage for architectural material ?
mm0fmf snipped-for-privacy@invalid.com wrote in news:q9h9sp$a7$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
Thanks - hope the weight isn't a problem. Would enjoy that tour. I like to go behind the scenes.
The guide did say in a major fire all bets are off.
They stored them in the roof as they had the environment and space and it didn't cost anything. That probably puts pay to that idea. They didn't have enough for a full rebuild, just for planned repairs. I think, but maybe wrong, that the guide said some beams had been waiting there for 50+ years.
Depends on the reason for having them, major fire is a bit pointless but having decent sized lumps of wood available for replacement of parts of the roof structure damaged by rot or worm seems enimently sensible.
There must be tons of molten, now solidified lead piled up somewhere, imposing a nasty non-distributed load up on that 'roof' somewhere. It can't have all poured down to terra-colder.
They may have other backups on other sites. You can't really put enough timber in the roof space to rebuild it unless it was massively over engineered so it can take the load.
They can sell them to ND at an enormous profit.
Some 200 tons of it, although some may have burnt.
Course if that'd had been the UK the Pikey's would that had it away over the weekend ;!..
As is their won't..
In article <XnsAA37AFCF4CAB7TrainJPlantntlworldc@81.171.92.222>, DerbyBorn snipped-for-privacy@Nearhome.com scribeth thus
May well have slowed it down ..
However now that the damage has been done thin "ish" section Steel cold dipped galvanised roof trusses and a coated ally roof materials .
No fire problems as nothing to burn:)
In article <XnsAA37F02C7CA0CTrainJPlantntlworldc@81.171.92.222>, DerbyBorn snipped-for-privacy@Nearhome.com scribeth thus
Would have thought that the risers and hoses were up in the main towers they have that at Ely cathedral..
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