Firefighter is seriously injured. The fire started about 8 hours ago. The cathedrals 300 foot tall wooden spire was engulfed. You see it there leaning over and eventually collapsing. The wooden roof is also gone. Inside the church, heres one of the first photos of the damage. You see where the roof has landed. Now look at the before and after, a place of prayer more than 800 years old attracting more than 13 million visitors a year now at least in big parts in ruins. There is some good news. Officials say the facade and two bell towers were saved. Crowding gathering, some singing hymns as their cathedral burned just a few days before easter. Others prayed on their knees standing vigil as fire crews battled the flames risking their lives. Nick, whats the status of the fire . Reporter the fire, according to police, anderson, is now under control. It is still burning. Firefighters are still pouring water on to it. As you said, the structure has been saved and some news from the mayor of paris as well. She says that some of the major art works there including the relics known as the crown of thorns and the tunic of louie have been safely removed and are safe. The extent of the damage, however, i think the firefighters can only be beginning to get their hands on that as they still work to put out the last of the flames weve seen this evening in the last hour people, presumably firefighters high up on the structure with flashlights looking around the roof there. But the roof itself, known as the forrest, that has been entirely destroyed we understand. But the facade and the two towers, those are secure . As we understand at the moment, this is what the french president has said, hads told this to the nation after coming here to look at the building himself. He said it will be paid for, the repair and rebuilding will be paid for. So, the indication tonight at this time is that those part of the structures are safe and secure. However, again, i think we just have to caution ourselves here that the investigation into why the fire took place has not yet started. Its been initiated. It hasnt started. And the firefighters are still only putting out the flames. So, it does seem early for a fire of such voracity to know all the damage and the great extent of what may or may not have been done to all parts of the structure, anderson. Have they said anything about how it may have started . I know you said the investigation hasnt even begun. I wonder if theyve made any kind of preliminary statement. Reporter the preliminary statement from the chief prosecutor indicates that this was not an intentionally set fire. It was not maliciously done. So, this was accidental is the starting point for the investigation. What we understand at the moment is that the fire probably began high up in the building in the attic. Of course, we know there was restoration work going on at this time. We dont know if the two things are connected. Clearly thats going to be a very big topic for the investigators to look at. And if theyre looking at an unintentionally started fire, then perhaps that gives us some clues towards potentially the Restoration Works or people involved therein that were the trigger here, anderson. It is such a sad day. Nic robertson, thank you very much. The cause of the fire not known, but officials suggest it could be connected to the restoration work. What is known is notre dame is home to religious relics. Joining me to talk about the fire fight itself is michael davis, the chair of architectural studies in massachusetts, also greg favor, and thomas van essen, fire commissioner during and after the 9 11 attacks. Commissioner, what do you think when you saw this in terms of the pictures you saw, what did you make of the burn itself and the fight to stop . Well, if youve been around a while, you immediately think its a construction accident when you see the scaffolding. Weve had so many of them here in the city that begun with welders, people working with any kind of a flame that starts something and they dont know its burning. They leave, and it gets going. It gets some air and starts burning overnight. Thats pretty common. Thats pretty common. We dont know for sure. You need an investigation. But i would bet that thats whats happening. If they were working in the eves in the attic, then it makes even more sense what happened because thats a lead roof and when theyre pouring the water on the outside, its not penetrating. So, it started on the inside. Only recently we put in st. Patricks, we put in a dry chemical system that prevents this type of thing. Its interesting. I have a house that has a led roof and i thought thats a good thing. But it lasts a long time, but thats interesting that the water doesnt get in it when firefighters are trying to fight the fire. Right. It needs to be put out from underneath in the attic space or eve space and its an expensive system to put in. But it would have prevented this whole disaster. Michael, the aspects of the cathedrals architecture that made the fire difficult to fight we just talked about the lead roof are they the same aspects that made it a triumph of engineering when it was first built . Well, certainly. The cathedral when it was constructed was briefly the tallest structure in western europe. So, when the fire broke out was very high above ground. And i might add too that the structure of the roof was arguably the most original part of the building. It had survived pretty much intact from the middle ages until today and was a real monument and testament to the achievements of the craft of carpentry in the middle ages. Greg, these firefighters, i mean they werent only having a focus on getting the fire on the roof under control. But then you also have all these not only priceless artifacts inside and also artifacts of extraordinary religious significance. The crown of thorns that jesus was believed to have worn, a piece of the original cross that jesus was believed to have been crucified on. Those are incalculable, just in terms of religious significance incalculable. Thats exactly right. As the commissioner can tell you, firefighters are generally very connected to the areas they serve. And no doubt the initial responding companies, the first two or three alarms to the cathedral not only understood the severity of the fire but also the significance of the building that it was in. And for all of the reasons that have been pointed out, whether its access or height or difficulty with the water supply, it was pretty evident early on in the initial 20 minutes that this was going to be a bad fire. They were behind the eight ball before they ever even pulled out of the fire house with this type of fire. So, at some point it becomes a command decision to decide what parts of the building you believe you still can save and what artifacts can you deploy teams in the area to get those out as safely and as you know, to maintain some of that historical significance from this building. I have to just mention, i find paris firefighters to be incredibly welltrained just as urban firefighters to begin with. The fact that they were able to control the fire spread as much as they did and save a large portion of the building including the two bell towers, its a tremendous effort. I think any firefighter that you ask that does this for a living would tell you that this is a significant Fire Fighting event and those firefighters should be praised. Do you agree . Yeah. Theyre young. Theyre military in paris. Really . Theyre part of the military. Yeah, after they do their time in the military in the fire service, they go out to the Fire Departments around the rest of the france. You get a young Aggressive Group of people. I think its a tough call for the fire chief in charge because he had to decide when is that roof going to collapse. Thats what im wondering. You dont want to send firefighters into the church itself if the roof is going to collapse. Nope. And if he knows like the chief mentioned, the locals know. They know its a lead roof. They know its very heavy. So, you dont know how fast thats going to be compromised. You might just have to burn a small part of it to make the whole roof collapse. Maybe it doesnt burn through. That was burned so, so visually there was very little the last clip you saw was very encouraging to me because theres not a lot of fire material on the floor of the cathedral. It must have burned so violently its mostly ashes down there. Thats what makes me think they may be able to preserve not paintings thats the picture youre talking about . Yes. Its not 30 feet of debris well, i dont want to compare anything to the trade center. Its not stuff that will be smoelderring for days. It looks like theyve got this fire out. Its interesting that you can look at that and to me it looks obviously terrible. But thats interesting from your to me it makes me think that all the statues are going to be okay because weve done that at fires in new york city where the statues survive. Theyre marble. Theyre unbelievable. Paintings from the heat, i dont know. Commander, do you agree that picture looks better to you than perhaps to a nonprofessional. I saw it a few minutes prior to coming on set here and i was encouraged by the lack of smoke condition i saw at the floor level and as the chief mentioned, it looks like a good majority, 30, 40 feet is largely unobstructed by degree. A good cleaning company, especially something that is that historically significant is going to get in there and do a heck of a job. I think its also worth noting that one of the challenges of this fire is where things are going to fall. Were talking about really heavy timbers, were talking about a large span of roof, we have the steeple that came down. You have to get close to the fire in order to get resources towards it. As the commissioner mentioned, if im the chief of department for paris, you have to decide where youre going to place your resources so they can still do good but dont have a steeple falling on top of 40 firefighters as theyre trying to position apparatus. They did a tremendous job given the volume of fire, intensity of the fire, and the size of the structure itself. Im tremendously impressed by their efforts. Michael, from an architectural standpoint, can you try to put into context the uniqueness of this building the if had terms of just human achievement for at the time that it was built . Yes. I think its a cathedral that uniquely reflects really the development and maturation of gothic architecture. You really, through the stones of its fabric, can follow the successive phases of gothic architecture from its 12th century beginnings in which there was this desire to unite tremendous height and scale with really ran the trance dental logic. This was the first building to utilize the flying buttress for a building this new kind of structure with paper thin walls and enormous windows filled with stained glass. And so it really tells a story of gothic architecture, the most ambitious structures of the age and of european culture at the time. Its fascinating. Michael davis, i appreciate your expertise, greg favor as well, and chief, thank you so much, really fascinating stuff. Really appreciate it. We should also point out the paris plils put out a statement saying the fire is now under control. Those are live pictures youre looking at. Now insight on the sacred grounds of notre dame. Emperors came to be crowned, emperors laid to rest. Joining me now. Father, how important a symbol is notre dame for catholics and the Catholic Church as a whole . Its essential. Outside of vatican city, theres no other place in europe or maybe the world that so represents catholicism. The vatican, what have they had to say about this today . Pope francis came out as quickly as possible with a statement expressing his closeness to french catholics and to the french people. And also a word for firefighters and all of those who were helping in the situation. The vatican has been following it closely and they came out with that statement just earlier this evening. Father moon, it is a cathedral but just just a church for everyday parisians. There are regularly held masses there. It remains a Community Centric house of worship. Right. Its the headquarters of the archbishop of paris. There are masses and funerals and weddings. Its a paris church. Its also the heart of catholic france. France is often called the eldest daughter of the church. So, this is really the heart of that eldest daughter. So, as a symbol it works on many Different Levels which i think is one reason why you see the vastout pouring of the emotion not only in paris but worldwide. Note dam also has some of the most famous relics of items. Do you have a sense of what they are. We dont know right now the sta us the of artworks inside the building or relics. We dont. But its one of the things that i think makes this event so poignant because its happening at the beginning of holy week which is the holiest week for christians around the world and it commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection on Easter Sunday. Insi inside notre dame they have what they claim to be the crown of thorns which jesus wore for his crucifixion which is dm commemorated on friday. We dont know the status of that. Another one is the part of the cross, they say, of jesus cross. So, those are two very important symbols for catholics and for christians around the world. And they are celebrated precisely in this week which makes this event obviously all the more touching for catholics around the world. Well, father, its also the i mean, just theres the building. Theres the significance az church. But theres also just the history of human beings expressing faith inside that hallowed structure, human beings which bring prayers and, you know, confessing and meeting and hearing scripture and, you know, talking to the deepest part of themselves and the deepest part of their faith and speaking that out. Its the history of everything that has happened inside that building. Thats very beautifully put. So, its not simply the relics and whether or not they are historic or authentic. The faith of the people, however, is authentic. As you say, its layers and layers and centuries and centuries of that. I was talking to a jesuit friend of mine living in france just a few minutes ago, and he said its a unique place because of the historic, poetic, and religious and secular parts of france come together in that one structure. Even on top of the faith people have expressed you have it as a secular symbol of france. Its invested with meaning in so many peoples hearts which is why i think you saw so many people outside praying and singing. Very moving today. I said this to somebody else today, but given what this building has survived historically, it survived the germans occupying paris. It survived the nazis. It survived both world wars. It survived the revolution. It played a role with napoleon. The people who have gone through those doors who are have knelt in the pews, in the aisles, the events that have swirled around this building. Theres something in the faye chur of these buildings which does regenerate, which does rebuild. Theres this long term build if you want of these holy sites which have gone through centuries of devastation and yet have been rebuilt. Father martin, delia gallagher, appreciate it. More on the notre dame tragedy next. Well talk about beyond the physical destruction. Later the Justice Department announcing a date for the Mueller Report to be given to the public. Itso chantix can help you quit slow turkey. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. With chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting. Chantix reduces the urge so when the day arrives, youll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. When you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. 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When you first saw the images of notre dame building, what went through your mind . What went through my mind was that the heart of paris was burning, that the soul of paris was burning, and that for my christian sisters and brothers, it is a tragedy. It is a sense of their life that is burning. But beyond that, it is for european civilization Something Like a real date, something happened there. I dont know why. I dont know how, but that has this feeling that something was happening very heavy in the country and of the west. For those who in america and around the world who have not been there, who have not seen it for themselves, or who dont know the history, can you just talk about the significance of this cathedral for paris, for france, and what the loss means . In terms of architecture, in terms of beauty, the wooden roof was built between the 12th and 13th century. Is to, its a big loss on this regard. But its a big loss also because notre dame of paris is really one of the beating hearts of the french civilization. It is the kings of france entered. So many important celebrations were done there. The biggest rendezvous of the french history went through cathedral notre dame paris. Its a holy place for christianity but it is a holy place als