An emergency services spokesman said the fire broke out on the third floor of the building on Sunday morning and spread to a gym. Warns of the danger of collapse. “The roof is on fire and the building itself is on fire as well. The fire was not brought under control and cracks were reported in the walls of the building.”

He said there were no reports of injuries. It is not known if there were people in the building when the fire broke out. Emergency services fear that the fire will spread more quickly, because many rugs and curtains are hung in the historic rooms.

“These buildings are old,” said Jean-Pierre Smith, a member of the Cape Town Municipal Council. News 24. “It is suggested that it takes 30 minutes for the detector to register the fire. If it had worked, we would have caught the fire sooner.”

Parliament building consists of three parts. The oldest part was completed in 1884. Parliament is located in the new wings that were built in the 1920s and 1980s. History was made in the Victorian building when President Frederic de Klerk announced the end of apartheid in 1990.

In April last year, a fire reduced part of the University of Cape Town’s library, which contains a private archival collection, to ashes.