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Wow! Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral

It reminds me of images and the national shock of 9/11.

I can tell you that the images of the Notre Dame Cathedral burning and the spire collapsing is a day that Frenchmen everywhere will never forget. Built in the 13th century, it has survived wars, bombings and other calamities. In college, I only took one art and architecture class, but I still remember learning about "flying buttresses" and the pictures were all from that iconic cathedral.

Certainly with this national symbol, I can expect that there will be a national movement to rebuild the edifice. Likely, it won't happen in my lifetime. I expect some modern replica will not be appropriate for something that has withstood the test of time.

A fire investigation is sure to follow. When I see that a modern ship has caught fire, likely the cause was a welder. If this event is an accident, I'm betting some form of maintenance procedure was underway and safety precautions were not in place to prevent this type of calamity. 

Here in the United States, it would be like the White House or Capitol catching fire and burning. Not something we would ever predict or imagine. 

One last story, I'm reminded of, somewhat related to the above. It is about how we think about our work and what we are doing. Three brick masons were working on a cathedral. They were asked what they are doing? One said, I'm laying bricks. The second said, I'm building a church. The third said, worshiping God. There were generations of workers who built the cathedral that burned today. 

When you write a plan, are you "just writing a disaster plan?"

 

 

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.