French firefighters stop blaze in spire of medieval Rouen Cathedral

The large tower of Rouen Cathedral in northern France caught fire during construction work on Thursday, but firefighters managed to put out the blaze at the famed landmark.

The fire broke out in the spire of the landmark cathedral in the capital of the northern French region of Normandy.

According to the local fire brigade, workers discovered the fire at a height of around 120 metres at midday and raised the alarm.

The fire brigade arrived with numerous fire engines and around 100 firefighters, who reached the tower using a giant ladder. A black cloud of smoke from the spire was visible from across the surrounding area.

The cathedral was evacuated and the surrounding area cordoned off.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire and prevent the flames from flaring up again. The scare was followed by the all-clear an hour and a half after the first alarm.

Workers said that plastic had caught fire on a work platform on the tower during work, according to the fire brigade. As the tower is made of metal in structurally important areas, the main concern was that the flames could spread to the wooden planks of the working scaffolding.

Rouen Archbishop Dominique Lebrun told broadcaster BFMTV that welding work may have been the cause of the fire.

"We have narrowly avoided another catastrophe," French Culture Minister Rachida Dati said after a site visit to the cathedral. "At this stage, and I speak under the authority of the public prosecutor, it is an accidental fire."

The church in Rouen is one of the most famous Gothic cathedrals in the world.

The Impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) immortalized the cathedral in 30 paintings depicting it at different times of the day and year.

The lantern tower of the cathedral is crowned by a cast-iron spire which, at 151 metres, is the highest in France. It was in this area that the fire broke out.

The fire in Rouen immediately brought back memories of the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

On April 15, 2019, the world-famous landmark on the Île de la Cité in the heart of the French capital was engulfed in flames.

The fire spread through the roof truss and then engulfed large parts of the medieval building. The small spire in the middle of the roof also collapsed.

The rebuilt Notre-Dame is due to open this year after a massive and costly years-long restoration effort.