Live: Turnbull calls for fund to help restore historic cathedral

Sydney tourist Lee Holmes was taking photos outside of Notre Dame when the fire broke out.

“It just got more and more vicious as it was going,” she said. “We were just watching in horror and as we sort of realised the gravity of the situation.”

The 51-year-old said she stayed on the scene for about an hour with a friend as crowds started to gather. “It was just a loss, because there was no amount of hoses that were going to do anything against the raging inferno,” she said.

The tourist, whose number one place to see in Paris was the cathedral, said the mood in Paris was one of disbelief. “I think everyone was just very shocked and people were crying with their heads in the hands and others on the ground crying.”

At 6.40pm on Monday local time, Notre Dame, the "lady of Paris", caught fire. The ferocious blaze quickly tore through the cathedral, causing the spire and roof to collapse.

Hundreds of firefighters have worked to get the blaze under control, and despite the damage, the Paris fire brigade commander says they have managed to save the structure.

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild the historic cathedral, which has been front and centre in Paris’ historical moments for centuries.

World political and religious leaders have expressed their sympathy with the French, and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for an Australian fund to help restore the cathedral.

The fire that devastated Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has caused shock and sadness in the Holy See, the Vatican spokesman said on Monday.

"The terrible news of the fire that has devastated the cathedral of Notre Dame, symbol of Christianity in France and in the world, was received in the Holy See with shock and sadness," Alessandro Gisotti said in a statement.

"We express our closeness to French Catholics and to the people of Paris and we assure our prayers for the firefighters and all those who are doing everything possible deal with this dramatic situation," he said.

Malcolm Turnbull has urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to establish a fund to help restore the historic cathedral.

The former Prime Minister tweeted that the fund would be a way for Australians to "show their solidarity once again with the people of France".

Mr Turnbull said the government could also make a "direct contribution", and the idea has "many precedents".

So far, the cause of the fire has not been officially determined, but French media have quoted the Paris fire brigade saying the fire is "potentially linked" to renovations.

Paris prosecutors think the huge fire at Notre Dame was started accidentally, based on preliminary investigations.

Some incredible photographs have been coming through of the fire.

The historic cathedral had been undergoing renovations before the fire broke out, so some items that were removed from the building have been saved.

On Thursday, 16 religious statues were removed from the spire for the first time in over a century to be taken for cleaning and therefore escaped the blaze.

The copper statues of the 12 apostles and four evangelists were craned from the roof and driven by truck from to south-western France for restoration.

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to rebuild Notre Dame cathedral on Monday after a blaze devastated large parts of the gothic gem on Monday.

"Notre Dame is our history, our literature, part of our psyche, the place of all our great events, our epidemics, our wars, our liberations, the epicentre of our lives," Macron told reporters in front of the still burning Paris landmark.

"Notre Dame is burning, and I know the sadness, and this tremor felt by so many fellow French people. But tonight, I'd like to speak of hope too," he said, announcing the launch of a fundraising campaign.

"Let's be proud, because we built this cathedral more than 800 years ago, we've built it and, throughout the centuries, let it grow and improved it. So I solemnly say tonight: we will rebuild it together," he added.

Reuters

While those aerial images clearly show the fierce blaze at the historic cathedral has destroyed the roof, spire and interior, firefighters say they can save the structure of the building.

Paris fire brigade chief Jean-Claude Gallet told reporters outside Notre Dame, "We can consider that the main structure of Notre-Dame has been saved and preserved."

French President Emmanuel Macron says the "worst has been avoided" and France will rebuild the cathedral. He indicated France will launch an international fundraising campaign to help with the effort.

Hundreds of firefighters have been working to get the blaze under control, which has burned for hours.

While the blaze has clearly been huge, aerial photographs have revealed the full extent of the blaze in the 800-year-old cathedral.

The fire burns unchecked throughout the whole structure, with all the roofs destroyed.