Copenhagen mayor to take lessons from Notre-Dame after Old Stock Exchange blaze

Smoke still rose from a blaze that destroyed Denmark's Old Stock Exchange on Thursday, but attention turned to its restoration as Copenhagen's mayor said she would learn lessons from how Paris dealt with a similar fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Smoke still rose from a blaze that destroyed Denmark's Old Stock Exchange on Thursday, but attention turned to its restoration as Copenhagen's mayor said she would learn lessons from how Paris dealt with a similar fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral. The blaze ripped through Copenhagen's 400-year-old landmark stock exchange on Tuesday, toppling its spire and triggering the collapse of a large roof section, in scenes reminiscent of the 2019 fire in Paris. Firefighters had worked through a second night to quell remaining flames in the basement and would stay on site for at least another 24 hours, Copenhagen's fire department said on Thursday.

The Danish Chamber of Commerce, which owns the building and uses it for its headquarters, has vowed to rebuild the iconic exchange which originally opened as a commodities trading venue in the 17th century. Copenhagen's mayor, Sophie Haestorp Andersen, said she would travel to Paris next month to learn about Notre-Dame's restoration.

"Yesterday, I reached out to the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and talked about their experiences from when Notre-Dame burned five years ago," Andersen told Reuters. "She invited me and a team to Paris to look at how they dealt with the situation there."

Police said they hoped to begin investigations inside the building on Thursday, although it could take months to determine the cause of the fire. No one was hurt in the blaze. Anders Ellegaard of Denmark's national forensic centre told TV2 that experts would help determine whether police could pursue a criminal case. In parts of the building, only outer brick walls remained, while the floors of some of the sections still standing were waterlogged from efforts to douse the fire.

Large containers filled with bricks were being stacked to support the damaged walls and prevent the historic brickwork from collapsing. Teachers from nearby schools brought their students to see the smouldering shell in the centre of Copenhagen, and streets were still closed to traffic.

The Chamber of Commerce said it had received more than 1,000 offers from funds, companies and private individuals, both in Denmark and abroad, to help the reconstruction effort. "I think it should be rebuilt in some way," said Line Dalsgaard, who works as a consultant at University of Copenhagen. "I just returned from Paris and passed the Notre Dame - so it is possible to rebuild it."

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