Are there not hundreds of CANDLES on fire at any one time in the church?
There are, but the fire started in the "attic," which is where the wood was, not the candles. The pictures we're getting of the nave show that it was largely untouched except for the center, where the roof collapsed. The nave is of course stone, but the roof was lead supported by wood. Lots of wood ... very old and therefore very well-seasoned wood.