France holding daylong tribute to Notre Dame firefighters

France on Thursday will hold a daylong tribute to the firefighters in Paris who saved the Notre Dame Cathedral after it was engulfed in a fire Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host the firefighters for a gathering to give them a “words of thanks,” according to the Associated Press. There will also be a ceremony held for the firefighters at Paris City Hall featuring a violin concert and readings from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” the AP reported.

{mosads}Monday’s massive fire destroyed much of the cathedral, including its famous spire and some stained-glass windows. But after officials initially thought the fire would destroy the entire building, firefighters were able to prevent that from happening. There were also no deaths caused by the fire. 

More than 400 firefighters responded to the fire, which took nine hours to put out, according to the AP.

José Vaz de Matos, a fire expert with France’s Culture Ministry, told the AP that Notre Dame would have burned to the ground in a “chain-reaction collapse” if the firefighters didn’t respond as quickly as they did.

Macron, the president, has pledged to rebuild the cathedral “even more beautifully.”

“We will rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral even more beautifully. We can do it, and once again, we will mobilize,” he said earlier this week.