Huge fire devastates South African parliament

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A general view of a building on fire at the South African Parliament precinct in Cape Town on January 2, 2022. – A major fire broke out in the South African parliament building in Cape Town on January 2, 2022.
Firefighters were present at the building as large flames and a huge column of smoke were seen at around 0530 GMT. (Photo by Obed Zilwa / AFP)

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) – A huge fire destroyed a large part of South Africa’s parliament on Sunday, as police said a suspect will appear in court in the week and firefighters struggled to bring the blaze completely under control.

Dozens of crews battled throughout the day to extinguish the fire which broke out at about 0300 GMT in the parliament complex’s oldest wing, which was completed in 1884 and has wood-panelled rooms.

As day dawned, thick plumes of black smoke could be seen enveloping the historic building’s imposing Victorian facade.

Officials said the entire part housing the National Assembly had been destroyed.

“The entire chamber where the members sit… has burned down,” parliamentary spokesman Moloto Mothapo said, adding that the blaze had still not been extinguished and fires had apparently been sparked in two separate areas of the complex.

Smoke billows from the roof of a building at the South African Parliament precinct in Cape Town on January 2, 2022, during a fire incident. (Photo by Marco Longari / AFP)

He said the roof of the National Assembly had collapsed and that the fire was “so intense” in that part of the building that firefighters had been forced to withdraw.

No casualties were reported.

President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters at the scene that a man had been held and that the building’s sprinkler systems had apparently failed.

But he added that despite the damage “the work of parliament will carry on”.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, addresses the media as a fire continues to burn in the South African Parliament buildings, in Cape Town on January 2, 2022. – A major fire raging on January 2, 2022, in South Africa’s seat of parliament in Cape Town had not been brought under control by firefighters after more than six hours, with authorities fearing “significant” damage. The fire was believed to have started in one of the older buildings in the precinct, leading to a security cordon nearby the cathedral where the ashes of anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu were buried on January 2. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

Police said later a suspect had been detained.

“A man has been arrested inside the parliament, he’s still being interrogated. We have opened a criminal case. He has been arrested and will appear in court on Tuesday,” police spokeswoman Thandi Mbambo said.

The parliament building houses a collection of rare books and the original copy of the former Afrikaans national anthem “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika” (“The Voice of South Africa”), which was already damaged.

The full extent of the damage was still being assessed with more than 70 firefighters still at the scene.

The parliament’s presiding officers would meet on Monday with Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille to take stock of the devastation.

JP Smith (R), mayoral committee member responsible for safety and security in the City of Cape Town, addresses the media, as a fire is burning in the South African Parliament buildings, in Cape Town on January 2, 2022. – A major fire raging on January 2, 2022, in South Africa’s seat of parliament in Cape Town had not been brought under control by firefighters after more than six hours, with authorities fearing “significant” damage. The fire was believed to have started in one of the older buildings in the precinct, leading to a security cordon nearby the cathedral where the ashes of anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu were buried on January 2. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

Jean-Pierre Smith, Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, told reporters the entire complex had suffered extensive water and fire damage and “nothing” was left of the part of the historic part.

This is where Parliament kept treasures including around 4,000 heritage and art works, some dating back to the 17th century.

These include the 120- metre-long (390-foot) Keiskamma tapestry, named after a river in the southeast of the country, tracing the history of South Africa from the first indigenous peoples, the San, to the historic democratic elections of 1994.

After ravaging the older wing of the building, the flames spread to newer parts of the complex which are currently in use.

Metres from Tutu’s burial

Firefighters walk out of the area, as a fire takes hold of the South African Parliament buildings, in Cape Town on January 2, 2022. – A major fire raging on January 2, 2022, in South Africa’s seat of parliament in Cape Town had not been brought under control by firefighters after more than six hours, with authorities fearing “significant” damage. The fire was believed to have started in one of the older buildings in the precinct, leading to a security cordon nearby the cathedral where the ashes of anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu were buried on January 2. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

A team of firefighters who were first to arrive at the scene battled the flames for several hours before being forced to retreat and call for reinforcements.

Around 70 firefighters were later deployed, some using a crane to spray water on the blaze.

Inside the rooms, fine showers of grey ash fell from the ceiling to the floor, which was already littered with debris.

Emergency services said they feared the fire could spread swiftly through the old rooms, which are decorated with wood, thick carpets and curtains.

Images broadcast on television had earlier shown giant flames leaping from the roof.

The area around the fire in the upmarket neighbourhood was quickly cordoned off.

The cordon stretched to a square where flowers were still displayed in front of the nearby St. George’s Cathedral, where anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral took place on Saturday.

After a simple, no-frills mass, with a cheap coffin — according to the famously modest Tutu’s instructions — his ashes were interred in the cathedral on Sunday.

Second fire in a year

The statue of Louis Botha on horseback, the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa, is seen as smoke billows from the roof of a building at the South African Parliament precinct in Cape Town on January 2, 2022, during a fire incident. – A major fire broke out in the South African parliament building in Cape Town on January 2, 2022.
Firefighters were present at the building as large flames and a huge column of smoke were seen at around 0530 GMT. (Photo by Marco Longari / AFP)

Cape Town has been home to South Africa’s houses of parliament since 1910, when separate administrations formed a union under British dominion and became a predecessor to the modern South African republic.

The site includes the National Assembly and the upper house National Council of Provinces, while the government is based in Pretoria.

It was in parliament where South Africa’s last apartheid president FW de Klerk announced in 1990 plans to dismantle the brutal white-minority regime.

The houses of parliament consist of three sections, with the newer additions constructed in the 1920s and 1980s.

In March another fire also broke out in the older wings of parliament, but it was quickly contained.

Cape Town suffered another major fire in April, when a blaze on the famed Table Mountain which overlooks the city spread, ravaging part of The University of Cape Town’s library holding a unique collection of African archives.

© Agence France-Presse