The western wing of Munitoria burns down

Date: 5 Mar 1997
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

The western wing of Munitoria burns down

The Munitoria building, a municipal building in Pretoria burned down in 1997. The fire spread though the building very quickly and was already out of control by the time fire fighters arrived. It took four days and 252 fire fighters to put out the fire completely and was the biggest fire the country had ever seen at the time. In the end, nothing could be salvaged. The damage was estimated to be R 353, 4 million. Thousands of public records were destroyed. The building was 44 years old, non-compliant with the South African national building regulations,SANS 10400 and known to be a fire hazard. . There were no casualties as the fire started after hours. The building was demolished in 2013.

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How we know this

01Mpho, (2012), National building regulations: more than words, from Interact Media, 10 August [online], Available at www.interactmedia.co.za [Accessed: 17 February 2014]
02Wegelin, H., Munitoria, from Artefacts, [online], Available at www.artefacts.co.za [Accessed: 17 February 2014]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2014, February 28). The western wing of Munitoria burns down . South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097145

South African History Online (2014) 'The western wing of Munitoria burns down ', South African History Online, 28 February. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097145 (Accessed: 28 August 2026).

South African History Online, The western wing of Munitoria burns down [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097145, (accessed 28 August 2026).

"The western wing of Munitoria burns down ." South African History Online, 28 Feb. 2014, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097145. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "The western wing of Munitoria burns down ." South African History Online. February 28, 2014. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097145.