France’s crisis management force is letting the world know that they’re forgoing President Trump‘s suggestion on how to handle the devastating fire that ripped through the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral this Monday.
As the fire raged, Trump took to Twitter and wondered why the French government wasn’t employing “flying water tankers” to fight the blaze.
“So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” Trump tweeted Monday morning. “Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!”
So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2019
Around two hours later, France’s Sécurité Civile, which is in charge of crisis management and civil defense, pointed out that if they’d followed Trump’s advice, things would have been much worse.
“Hundreds of firemen of the Paris Fire Brigade are doing everything they can to bring the terrible #NotreDame fire under control,” the Sécurité Civile tweeted from its official Twitter account in English. “All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.”
Hundreds of firemen of the Paris Fire Brigade are doing everything they can to bring the terrible #NotreDame fire under control. All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.
— Sécurité Civile Fr (@SecCivileFrance) April 15, 2019
As The Week points out, it’s rare for the agency to tweet in English.
In another tweet that was posted in French, the agency reiterated the danger of doing a water drop from the air.
“Helicopter or airplane, the weight of the water and the intensity of the drop at low altitude could indeed weaken the structure of Notre Dame and cause collateral damage to surrounding buildings,” the tweet read.
According to the head of the group of companies for the Restoration of Historic Monuments, Frédéric Létoffé, full restoration of Notre Dame will take between “10 to 15 years.”
“This will require a lot of work since, beyond shoring and reinforcement, it will be necessary to build a scaffolding with an umbrella to be able to cover the entire roof that went missing, to ensure protection against weathering” he said at news conference, according to CNN.
Featured image: screen grab/MSNBC
