Letters: 'Electricity was most likely involved in the dreadful fire at Notre Dame'

I’m not certain I agree with his comments about besotted morons and the use of modern technology.

To make fire we need fuel, oxygen and heat all in plentiful supply – the three elements of the fire triangle.

Windsor Castle, York Minster and Notre Dame in their construction each contain several forests of dry seasoned wood so fuel a plenty. The buildings contain air so plenty of oxygen – two out of the three conditions required for fire are already in place in our treasured buildings.

At Windsor Castle in 1992 the heat and subsequent fire came from a faulty light that ignited fabric. Was it really a faulty light or did a daft lad/lass simply leave a working light that was always going to get hot too close to flammable material?

York Minster has likely attracted the attention of many lightning strikes over the years. Although we can never be completely certain of the cause of the 1984 fire evidence points to a lightning strike.

At York it is believed the lightning hit the existing lightning protection system but rather than go straight to ground as it had for many years it also discharged through a new electrical installation fixed to the underside of the roof causing heat and subsequent fire. So was the daft lad/lass at work again designing and fixing this new electrical system so close to the existing and proven lightning protection system without thought to the holistic implication?

And so to France and Notre Dame, has the daft lad/lass struck again or do we blame electricity and new technology?

Michael McLaren, Witton-le-Wear