- On Monday night, the fire in the parliament of the South African metropolis Cape Town was brought under control, said the spokesman for the local fire department, Jermaine Carelse.
- However, there is still a fire in the oldest part of the building – so far there have been no injuries.
- The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing – there is said to have been an arrest.
According to the AFP news agency, the fire broke out on Sunday night. On Sunday morning, the flames were then visible from the outside – when the fire began to spread on the third floor of the building.
The fire initially broke out at the rear of the building complex that houses the Old Assembly Chamber and the National Council of the Provinces and a few hours later it spread to the building of the National Assembly, in which the parliament sits, said the provincial Minister for Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille.
The roof of one of the buildings had collapsed, while some walls of the government complex were cracked, it said. Video footage showed thick black columns of smoke rising from the building. According to a speaker in parliament, the flames have also destroyed the chamber in which the National Assembly meets.
The Parliament building is home to many national artifacts. As a member of the city security committee said, it is still unclear whether these have also been damaged.
No injuries
It was not initially clear whether there were any people in the building, said Jean-Pierre Smith, a member of the security unit of the Mayor of Cape Town. According to the Cape Town ambulance service, however, there were no injuries. The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, a 51-year-old man has been arrested and is being interrogated.
Apparently, the fire alarms were not triggered immediately and the sprinkler system did not work properly, said President Ramaphosa on Sunday at noon. He is glad that this building, which is so important for South African democracy, did not burn down completely.
Legend:
More than 35 emergency services were on site and put out the fire in the parliament building in Cape Town.
Reuters
Cape Town’s security officer Jean-Pierre Smith also criticized the eNCA news channel on Monday. He spoke of serious defects that could be attributed to poor maintenance. The electricity system did not turn off automatically and the ventilation systems continued to run. The automatic fire alarm was also triggered with a long delay.
It is still unclear when the historic building can be used again. As early as March, the building fell victim to a fire that was quickly contained, which also started from the oldest wings. The newer attachments were built in the 1920s and 1980s.