“… These included documents from a French chemist at Shanghai University, which showed that the timbers had been sprayed a year earlier with an anti-fungal gel – Xilix Gel Fongi+ – that made them more flammable. “Neighbours from the very narrow streets close to the cathedral had remembered the smell of it being applied … it was on all of the carpentry.
“I learnt from the factory that the spray comes with a warning: ‘In case of fire never use water.’ Because water on that product will intensify the size of the flames. I said it to the firemen. I had the impression that they had no idea … that they were not informed.
“There were so many mistakes, so many misfunctioning elements. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong.”
