Ten days after the fire that partially ravaged Notre-Dame de Paris, the investigation continues. The building is now secure and the forensic scientist will begin to look at the burnt debris to identify the causes of the fire. Several hypotheses are advanced, including that of an accident due to the installation of electrified bells in the attic of the cathedral, against the advice of the chief architects.
Traces to study carefully at the scene of the incident
The agents of the scientific police of the prefecture of Paris will be able to penetrate Thursday in the center of the cathedral to proceed to the findings and advance their investigations. They will have to do a thorough job on the ground and on the walls. "We have a way of reading the sinister both on the walls and on the objects that have burned," explains to Europe 1 Captain Eric Broardie, spokesman of the National Federation of firefighters of France.
"It's sometimes a long read, because the fire gives very clear and precise visual traces, and the stratification of the fumes will be important.We speak of white marks and black marks and according to the density of these colors, we can quickly find the origin of the incident and how it has progressed. "
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In addition to the traces left by the fire, firefighters' experts can rely on the remains of what has been consumed. "We always try to reconstruct debris, to give a story to the frame by trying to pick up all the pieces," says Eric Broardie. "It will reconstruct a story, we will also rely on the layout of what was done in the past, we will then superimpose it on the current situation, it will be very difficult but not impossible."
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A short circuit between the bells at the origin of the disaster?
The first elements of the investigation would point to a dangerous installation of electrified bells. The boss of the company The Brother Arm, who mounted the scaffolding around the spire of Notre Dame, assured Marianne and the Chained Duck that six bells connected by electric cables running in the frames were in the attic from the cathedral.
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Three bells were installed in 2007 above the keystone of the transept and three others, put back into service in 2012 at the time of the renovation of the great bells of the belfries, were in the same spire of Viollet-le-Duc. This cleric-based installation, according to Le Canard Chained , despite warnings from architects of historic buildings who feared a fire, was to be temporary but remained in place for seven years.
These bells would have sounded for the last time twelve minutes before the fire alarm. Are they causing a short circuit that would have caused the fire of the cathedral? Officials of Notre-Dame assure that it is indeed the general direction of the cultural affairs (Drac), and thus the State, which had authorized this installation.