Moment firefighters run into wall of flames inside Notre Dame cathedral

Firefighters were praised for risking their lives to save Notre Dame yesterday, and new footage shows just how heroic they were.

Risking their own lives as they toiled through the night, Parisian firefighters have been praised the world over for their brave response to the devastating Notre Dame blaze.

More than 400 firefighters spent hours tackling the fire in the 12th century Gothic masterpiece that started in the cathedral’s roof and quickly spread throughout the building.

New footage shows just how difficult their job was — as one firefighter filmed dozens more fronting up to the wall of flames engulfing the cathedral.

Oblivious to the dangers they potentially faced if the cathedral’s main structure collapsed, firefighters battled the fire for more than eight hours and managed to save the main structure and Notre Dame’s two bell towers.

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Firefighters face a wall of flames inside Notre Dame. Picture: D.Douhard

French authorities revealed earlier today the cathedral was within “15 to 30 minutes” of complete destruction when firefighters managed to finally bring the blaze under control.

The Paris fire brigade later explained how they’d created a wall of water between the raging fire and the two towers — with their bodies in between — to save the precious structures.

The cathedral bells hang inside the two towers, and if the wooden frame inside them had caught fire, it could’ve sent the bells crashing down.

The Emmanuel Bell, the cathedral’s largest bell, weighs 13 tonnes, and firefighters had grave fears if it fell, the entire tower would collapse.

Firefighters also revealed the temperature inside the cathedral reached more than 800C as they worked to control the fire.

“They saved the edifice, but it all came down to 15 to 30 minutes,” junior interior minister Laurent Nunez said, 15 hours after firefighters announced they had extinguished the blaze.

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The temperature inside the cathedral reached more than 800C. Picture: D.Douhard

Firefighters were also praised for the efforts to save Notre Dame’s collection of “priceless treasures”.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo thanked the city’s first responders in a tweet, revealing they had formed a “formidable human chain to save the works” of Notre Dame.

“The Crown of Thorns, the tunic of Saint Louis and several other major works are now in a safe place,” Ms Hidalgo wrote in a translated tweet.

Ms Hidalgo later explained the group of responders formed a human chain that stretched more than 200m inside the cathedral to pass along and save “dozens and dozens of artefacts”.

Some of the most notable saved were the Holy Crown of Thorns, believed to have been worn by Jesus Christ at his crucifixion, and a sacred tunic worn by 13th century French king Louis IX.

Their lack of self-regard as they tried to retrieved countless other items prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to praise their “extreme courage.”

Within an hour of the fire starting, Mayor Hidalgo told AFP: “General Jean-Claude Gallet (the commander of the Paris fire brigade) is explaining to us that it will be very difficult to save the (wooden) roofing but that the priority will be to save the relics.”

Inside Notre Dame cathedral after the fire. Picture: AFP

The firefighters then moved in, seeking out as many of the building’s treasures as they could, forming a human chain to bring them to safety.

Fire brigade Lieutenant-Colonel Gabriel Plus said “everything was against” the first firefighters on the scene.

“Time and the wind were against us, and we had to get on top of it fast. We had to make a rapid choice … and the priority we gave ourselves was to save the two bell towers, and both were saved,” he added.

“From the beginning, there was always the possibility that the whole structure might collapse.” While armchair critics have suggested more could have been done to slow the fire, tough choices had to be made, Lt-Col Plus said, adding they could not have hoped to save the roof by that stage.

The roof suffered the most damage. Picture: Christophe Petit Tesson

“Heritage curators had a prevention plan which indicated what was most important in each room of the building,” said sources close to Mr Hidalgo who afterwards heaped praise on all involved.

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Christophe Girard, overseeing cultural affairs at the city hall, later said “it was as if we were transporting a heart destined for a transplant”.

“Policemen were carrying crosses, firefighters enormous candles and tableaus,” another town hall official said, marvelling at the almost superhuman effort.

Within hours of their removal, the treasures would be on the move once again, this time to the Louvre for safe keeping.

Mr Macron yesterday calculated it would take at least five years to restore Notre Dame.

— With AP