Thread by @dawncai624

After a fire devastated Notre-Dame in April, we launched an investigation into what happened.

We found that an early miscommunication led to a delay that put the cathedral dangerously close to collapsing. This is the story of how it was saved. #NotreDame

nytimes.com/interactive/20…

At 6:18 pm on April 15, a smoke alarm went off at Notre-Dame. A guard was sent to check for fire, but he found nothing.

Nearly 30 minutes passed before they realized a critical mistake: the guard had gone to the wrong building.

The full story is here: nytimes.com/interactive/20…

The delay put firefighters in a near impossible position.

The fire had consumed the roof of the cathedral, causing the spire to collapse.

The northern tower was under threat. If it fell, they feared it could bring down the whole cathedral.

Full story: nytimes.com/interactive/20…

With the northern tower aflame, firefighters scrambled to get inside and up to where it was burning, even at great risk to themselves.

It was a decisive moment that saved the structure.

Full story: nytimes.com/interactive/20…

One interesting tidbit: One of the firefighters on the scene is also a professional sketch artist. He made a series of amazing sketches of the firefighting strategy as it was happening and in the days after.

You can see more of his sketches in the story: nytimes.com/interactive/20…