The upper regions of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris were a veritable forest of ancient oak beams, an immense stack of tinder just waiting for a spark to set off the great conflagration. That’s why no electric wires were run into the loft — to reduce the chance of fire.

The following video clip is an excerpt from a documentary about Notre Dame that aired last year. Many thanks to MissPiggy for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript: