Part of the roof of the parliament collapsed in the fire

A large fire broke out on Sunday, January 2, in the seat of the South African parliament in Cape Town, causing part of the roof to collapse. “The roof of the old building of the National Assembly collapsed, nothing.”, Jean-Pierre Smith, head of the city’s fire and rescue services, told reporters. “Overall damage caused by smoke and water”, He added “Fire is not under control”.

The fire broke out at 5 a.m. local time in the oldest section of the building, which was completed in 1884. The fire also spread to recent areas in use today. “Firefighters are currently trying to contain the blaze in the new section, where a fire accident has affected the current hall of the National Assembly.”, Parliamentary spokesman Molodo Modabo told an online news conference. Early in the morning, flames and thick smoke billowed from the top of the building.

A team of thirty firefighters who first arrived at the scene spent several hours trying to put out the blaze, noticing the severity of the blaze and calling for reinforcement. By noon 70 firefighters were on the ground. Some have fitted water spears from the top of the crane to extinguish the fire. The streets of the upscale neighborhood were quickly rounded up.

Current “National Assembly is currently in defense”, Former mayor of Cape Town and current minister Lilly Patricia told the press on the spot. No estimate has been given and the origin of the fire is not yet known.

This historic building houses valuable books and the original copy of the first national anthem. The Voice of South Africa (The Voice of South Africa) Sung during the apartheid era.

The city of Cape Town was already devastated by a major fire in April. The fire at Table Mountain, which overlooked the coastal city, spread and destroyed the treasures in the library of the famous Cape Town University below.