Contents
Epilogue — 9.
Overview
Firefighters struggle in Notre-Dame’s attic as the 2019 blaze intensifies. Leonard Debois retreats when the spire collapses, triggering a roaring firestorm. The catastrophe is likened to a dragon’s scream, echoing the story’s recurring dragon imagery and signaling destructive forces beyond control.
Summary
Leonard Debois climbs toward Notre-Dame’s attic through a narrow stone shaft, joining firefighters battling the growing blaze with low-pressure deluge guns to spare the cathedral’s ancient structure. Smoke, heat, and the limitations of their methods create a precarious stand inside the roof space.
A sudden, terrible roar rises above them. Jean Laurent shouts for a retreat, and the crew scrambles down the steps as vibration and sound overwhelm them. The spire begins to tilt, bending as if it were melting, shedding lead that will soon poison the air.
As the spire collapses into the building, the roof erupts in a blast of super-oxygenated flame, like a bombardment. Debois and the others run, the crash drowning out their voices and thoughts.
Afterward, recounting the night, Leonard Debois says the fire sounded triumphant at the end—like a dragon screaming—fixing the inferno in memory as a living, ravaging force.
Who Appears
- Leonard DeboisFirefighter near the attic; retreats as Notre-Dame’s spire collapses; later likens the blaze to a dragon’s scream.
- Jean LaurentFirefighter above Debois; orders retreat when the roaring intensifies before the spire’s collapse.