Asif Iqbal, his wife, Asiya Ali, and their two children were spending their day in Paris, France.

"It was a beautiful day to be outside," said Iqbal.

Traveling from Pittsford, they were most excited to tour the Notre Dame Cathedral. 

"When we went in, they were singing hymns," said Iqbal. "It was beautiful."

Little did the family know, they would be some of the last people to see the iconic cathedral as it had stood for centuries.

"As we were getting toward the end of our internal tour, walking towards the exit, then we heard the fire alarm," said Iqbal.

The family was close to the exit, and was able to get outside quickly.

“I don't think anybody realized at that point what was going on, we just thought that maybe it was a fire drill of some sort," said Ali.

Iqbal and his family moved away from the scene, and then realized the gravity of the situation: flames engulfing the cathedral right before their eyes.

"Within moments, all these different alarms and the emergency, you know, the police were showing up, then there was fire trucks coming, there was just a panic out there," said Iqbal.

The family says they will go back out into the streets of Paris tomorrow — to a city irrevocably changed.

"We plan to go out again tomorrow, and so far it's been a beautiful stay, people are courteous, we have really enjoyed every part of our experience here, and I just hope it's going to be no different tomorrow, but it's gonna be sad," said Iqbal.