BURNING RING OF FIRE

South Africa’s Parliament Building Gutted by Blaze

The fire broke out early Sunday morning on the third floor of the parliament building in Cape Town, destroying reams of important documents as it spread quickly.

A devastating fire ripped through South Africa’s national Parliament complex in Cape Town on Sunday morning. No one has been reported injured in the fire, which started on the third floor of the main building and quickly spread to adjacent structures, but important documents and historical memorabilia are said to be lost. The building is about a block away from St. George’s Cathedral, where Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral was held on Saturday. Firefighters say the structure, dating back to the late 1800s, is at risk of collapse. “The bitumen on the roof is even melting, an indication of the intense heat,” City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse told local reporters. “There have been reports of some walls showing cracks, which could indicate a collapse.”