The fire of Reims Cathedral on September 19, 1914, was at the origin of the first live report by Albert Londres. The journalist narrated the destruction of the monument's roof and the pouring of molten lead from the gargoyles' mouths. The city's inhabitants picked it up from the streets and brought it back at the end of the war. The fire, provoked by German bombardments, ignited the cathedral's wooden framework and the straw covering the ground, converted into a military hospital. The adjacent Palace of Tau, the residence of the Archbishops, was also destroyed.