- A fire broke out in a parliament building in the tourist city of Cape Town, South Africa. Dozens of firefighters were called in to put out the blaze on the third floor of the parliament building.
- Apparently an alarm system was not working. It started when firefighters were already extinguishing it.
- No one was injured in the blaze, security officials said.
- An investigation is underway into the cause of the fire – which is said to have been arrested.
According to the AFP news agency, the fire broke out at night. In the morning, when the fire started spreading on the third floor of the building, flames were visible from outside.
The provincial minister said the fire first spread to the back of the building that houses the old assembly room and the National Assembly of the provinces, and a few hours later it spread to the National Assembly building where the parliament is located. For Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lilly.
The roof of one of the buildings collapsed and cracks appeared in some of the walls of the government complex. Video footage showed dense black pillars of smoke rising from the building.
The Parliament Building is home to many national artefacts. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
No injuries
It was not immediately clear if there were people in the building, said Jean-Pierre Smith, a member of the Cape Town Mayor’s Security Division. However, according to the Cape Town Ambulance Service, there were no injuries. The cause of the fire is being investigated. A 51-year-old man has been arrested and is being questioned, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Apparently, the fire alarms were not triggered immediately and the sprinkler system was not working properly, President Ramaphosa said at noon on the site. He is pleased that this building, so important to South African democracy, has not been burned to the ground.
However, it is not yet clear when the historic building will be reused. In early March, the building quickly succumbed to a controlled fire, which started from the oldest wings. New connections were built in the 1920s and 1980s.
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