South Africa, fire devastates part of University of Cape Town library

In Cape Town, South Africa’s legislative capital, a fire that broke out overnight between Sunday and Monday damaged, and in some cases even devastated, some of the city’s historic buildings, particularly those on the university campus, which is located not far from where the fire broke out (the slopes of Table Mountain, the mountain overlooking the city): the most important loss is surely that of the Jagger Reading Room, a relevant section of the University of Cape Town (UCT) library that housed important records of African history, including nineteenth-century works by local people, maps, films, manuscripts and documents, including important resources onapartheid history.

Also damaged were student housing, the historic Mostert’s Mill (a 1796 mill) and part of Table Mountain National Park, a natural park of great importance for its very high biodiversity. There are currently four injuries among the firefighters who were called out to control the fire, which was completely extinguished yesterday. The causes of the fire are not yet known, although on Table Mountain forest fires are not uncommon, especially in the dry months, and they become particularly dangerous when, as happened between Sunday and Monday, they are fueled by winds coming in from the coast.

The extent of damage reported by the Jagger Reading Room is not yet clear, but it will certainly be heavy losses. “The library is our biggest loss,” UCT Vice Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng told the Washington Post. “Some of the losses unfortunately cannot be replaced with insurance. It is a very sad day for us.” Among the losses that have certainly been ascertained is that of the African film collection, a unique archive of 3,500 films: digitization of the archive was underway, which had not yet been completed, and as a result only a small part of the collection is safe thanks to its digital transformation. The library is now asking anyone in possession of copies of what was lost to fill out a form to help the institution recover the losses.

“The Jagger Reading Room,” UTC library director Ujala Satgoor said in a note, “is completely destroyed, and fortunately the fire detection system started the fire extinguishers preventing the fire from spreading to other parts of the library. Some of our valuable collections have been lost, however a full estimate can only be made when the building is declared safe and we can enter.” Satgoor went on to thank the authorities, firefighting teams, staff and students, and all those who have expressed closeness, support and assistance to UCT.

South Africa, fire devastates part of University of Cape Town library

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