City of Cape Town Fire Services Release Parliament Fire Report Along With Previous Pre-SONA Inspection Reports
- The City of Cape Town's Fire Department has released a report following the fire at the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town
- The report states that it is not extensive but rather consists of observations by those firefighters who help to extinguish the fire
- The report revealed that, due to the age of the Parliament building, there were few modern passive fire safety measures in place
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CAPE TOWN - The City of Cape Town's Fire Department has released a report following the fire at the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town. Geordin Hill-Lewis, the Mayor of Cape Town, said that the report strived to be as transparent and objective as possible.
The report, which has been submitted to the Speaker of Parliament for comment, states that it is not extensive but rather consists of observations by those firefighters who help to extinguish the blaze.
The City is limited in the extent to which it can impose fire safety regulations on Parliament as it is a national key point and therefore does not fall under their direct jurisdiction.
Source: Getty Images
Fire safety and maintenance at Parliament
The report revealed that, due to the age of the Parliament building, there were few modern passive fire safety measures in place, such as the lack of fire doors in the roof. This resulted in the roof of the National Assembly being severely damaged. The lack of firewalls also caused an increased spread, The South African reports.
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It has been suggested in the report that there is a possibility that the fire did not have a single starting point, but might have started at two separate parts of the building, namely the National Assembly and Old Assembly sections.
Other issues cited in the report were that the sprinkler system malfunctioned and not been serviced since 2017, the fire doors were open on their latches which allowed the fire to spread rapidly and poor ventilation in the section where political party offices are.
Reactions to the Parliament fire report
@NhlakaniphoZakh said:
"Thank you leadership for the transparency. I like your modest spirit. Continue being approachable as well and don't let power get into your head."
@BowesJody stated:
"Thank you for sharing."
@zekewareley believes:
@HumCoue shared:
"Thank you, Mayor and City of Cape Town for continuing to release the FACTS and the TRUTH. Pity the same cannot be said about the current minister in coming clean as to her mismanagement of state assets."
@newnerd3 remarked:
"A breath of fresh air, Geordin, please keep pushing!"
@realflyingdutc1 joked:
Madonsela asks how Mafe got a private lawyer so quickly
In earlier news about the Parliament fire, Briefly News reported that questions around Zandile Christmas Mafe, the man who has been charged with starting the fire that broke out at Parliament on 2 January, continue to take over social media conversations.
Many people have been trying to figure out whether or not Mafe is homeless, as the initial reports said. This is despite Mafe's lawyer, Luvuyo Godla, dispelling the notion he is a homeless man.
The latest prominent figure to question the validity of the claims that Mafe is a homeless man who is innocent is former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. Heading online, Madonsela questioned why people are adamant that Mafe is innocent of the crimes he is accused of.
Source: Briefly News
