At the beginning of May, a fire broke out in the Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church located in the middle of the Wazemmes district, in Lille. The fire, which had broken out accidentally, had no casualties but had caused heavy damage, particularly to the frame.
The flames had started from the sacristy, adjoining the electrical room, and had spread to it as well as to the roof above the choir of the building. The findings had uncovered “significant disturbances” involving public safety and requiring closure to the public. Eight months later, the town hall commissioned work “to put water out and clean up the sacristy, inducing the installation of a steel trough and a temporary frame, as well as wood panels on the damaged stained glass windows and ‘a new floor’.
A provisional reopening
Also damaged in the fire, the frame and the roof were reinforced. The electrical network and the fire alarm system have been completely refurbished and meet current standards. As it stands, the 19th century church no longer presents any danger, and the city authorized its reopening on Thursday, in order “to once again allow the exercise of worship and the holding of cultural events”.
However, this reopening will be temporary, with permanent restoration work to be carried out from September 2022. It will involve, among other things, renovating the roofs, frames and elevations of the church for an estimated amount of 5 millions of euros.