STORY: :: An eyewitness describes the moment he realized the Rouen Cathedral was on fire
:: July 11, 2024
:: Rouen, France
:: Patrick Waeselynck, Cafe owner
:: "It's the first day of good weather, there's a big outside seating area, people are sitting down. We're going over to take the order and we hear, "Fire!" - I turn around and I see the cathedral spire, the tarpaulin that was protecting the restoration work, which was burning, big flames, black smoke. Of course my first reaction was surprise, we didn't really know what to do."
:: "The first thing we thought was what happened in Paris (Notre-Dame fire), it was a shock of course. But the police arrived, they set up a security perimeter, the firefighters arrived."
Cafe owner Waeselynck said people were sitting outside on his outdoor tables enjoying the weather when someone spotted the blaze.
He then rushed to alert police offers that the tarpaulin surrounding the spire was alight.
Firefighters said the fire was under control but not fully extinguished.
A jewel of French medieval Gothic architecture, the cathedral dates back to the 12th century and was repeatedly painted by impressionist artist Claude Monet in the 19th century, lifting its worldwide fame.
