Workers at Notre Dame on Monday began dismantling scaffolding that melted onto itself during a massive fire in April last year which almost consumed the beloved cathedral.

Axar.az reports citing Turkish media.

The work involves taking out 40 tons (88,000 pounds) of fused metal to be removed without damaging the stone vaults around it. It was these vaults that prevented the fire from moving down and into the main body of the building.

The fire occurred on April 15, 2019, starting in the cathedral's roof where restoration had already begun.

It is thought that faulty equipment was the cause of the blaze. Some 400 firefighters battled no less than an inferno for three and a half hours that nearly took down the 11th-century church.

To the horror of onlookers, the fire tore through the roof and destroyed the church's notable Gothic spire, only coming under control in the early morning hours.