Firefighters from the City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue service were deployed to the South African parliament building in Cape Town early on Sunday, 2 January 2022 as a fire had broken out in the building in the early hours of the morning.
JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for safety and security, told local media that the fire alarm had been raised at 5am and that the firefighters who have been fighting the blaze had requested more resources to get the fire under control.
City of Cape Town fire and rescue service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse says that the fire started in the third-floor offices and spread to the National Assembly chamber.
Security guards reported that no people have been injured in the fire.
Smith says that there are currently 6 firefighting appliances and approximately 36 firefighters on scene.
"Fire is currently on the 3rd floor. Initial reports indicate it started in the office space and is spreading toward the gymnasium," said Smith.
Though previous reports indicated that the fire was only located in the Old Assembly building, Smith has confirmed that the National Assembly building is on fire too.
“The roof area has caught alight and the National Assembly building is on fire too. The fire has not been contained and reports of cracks in some walls of the building have been confirmed. Firefighters on the scene have called for additional resources,” said Smith.
There is still no indication of how the fire could have started.
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Patricia De Lille said that the fire had been contained in the Chamber of the Council of Provinces (the parliament's upper house), but the fire is still in National Assembly building.
This is a developing story.
