34 Time December 23–30, 2019
A
s flames leaped from
the roof of Notre Dame ca-
thedral on April 15, those
who knew its innermost se-
crets ventured into the pitch darkness
of the smoke-filled nave. Their aim:
to rescue some of the most valuable
treasures in all of Christianity. “There
was no electricity, there was a lot of
water, there were alarms going off,”
says Antoine- Marie Préaut, conserva-
tor of historic monuments in the Paris
region, remembering the moment
he entered the cathedral with Notre
Dame’s operational director, Laurent
Prades, and a group of firefighters.
“The atmosphere was apocalyptic.”
Millions across the world watched
aghast as fire shot from the medieval
masterpiece in the heart of Paris. Less
visible was how close Notre Dame came
to total collapse, and how narrowly its
treasures were saved.
About 400 firefighters battled the
flames for more than nine hours—some
climbing the staircase in its north tower,
despite the danger of being trapped, to
keep the cathedral’s set of 13-ton bells
from falling and potentially bringing
down the towers and the entire cathe-
dral with them. The roof was already
almost gone. “I found a situation that
was completely catastrophic,” says
Jérôme D., a firefighter who climbed to
the top, and who cannot be named in
full, per the rules of Paris’ fire brigade.
Préaut and Prades were so focused
on rescuing the relics that they tuned
out the chaos. Then they heard a giant
noise as the spire crashed into the nave,
collapsing the roof. Inside the cathedral,
the fire now raged at ground level. “We
felt utterly powerless,” Prades says.
“But then everything happened very,
very quickly. We lost all sense of time.”Amid darkness and flames, the men
fumbled to unlock a strongbox in a back
chapel. Inside were Notre Dame’s most
precious relics— including the Crown of
Thorns that worshippers believe Christ
wore to his Crucifixion, as well as pieces
of wood and a nail believed to be from
the True Cross. The two became part
of a human chain, passing the priceless
items to safety. “We told the firefight-
ers, ‘Take everything you can carry,’ ”
says Préaut, 38. “They were shouting at
us, ‘Get out, get out!’ ”
Toward midnight, police finally
escorted Préaut to city hall, where the
relics were locked up for safekeeping.
As their van crossed a bridge over the
Seine, Préaut was stunned to see crowds
jamming the entire area. “There were
thousands and thousands of peopleHEROES
2019
THE YEAR IN
DEFENDERS
O F
NOTRE DAME
By Vivienne Walt/Paris