The parliament fire has reportedly been started by a 42-year-old man who found his way in through a back window. According to BBC, security and police are not being paid overtime.
Suspect Arrested On The Premises
This individual that is suspected of starting the fire is currently being questioned by the police and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday 4th January. He also needed to be saved from the burning building.
President Cyril Ramaphosa went and visited the building today to check the damage to the building himself. This tragic incident comes just the day after the late Desmond Tutu had been laid to rest.
At this time, It is noted that the fire alarms only went off when the firefighters were already on the site. In addition, the sprinklers didn’t work due to a malfunction.
Parliament Fire Is The Second Fire In The Building
Currently, the fire at the parliament house would be the second time the building has been set alight. The first fire was due to an electrical fault.
The fire took an intense amount of time to put out the fire because of the wooden floors as well as carpets within the building.
The fire started on the third floor and continued to spread through to the lower parts of the building. The national assembly building is completely gutted at this time.
