Devastation as historical UCT buildings gutted by runaway fire

UCT Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng joined students to express deepest gratitude to everyone who supported the university during the devastating fire of Sunday, 18 April.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng shares a message of hope with students and staff.

Soil erosion barriers have been erected along UCT’s entire Forest Precinct following the fire, and the area will remain out of bounds during rehabilitation.

UCT’s Emeritus Professor William Bond said that wildfires, like the one that occurred on campus earlier this year, are likely to increase with global warming.

UCT’s Jagger Reading Room has received a R50 000 donation from PNA. The funds will go towards the library’s restoration project.

VC Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng’s latest communiqué praises UCT Libraries staff and volunteers who have rescued thousands of valuable archive items following the 18 April fire.

Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, has pledged to help UCT following a devasting campus fire.

A salvage operation began to retrieve valuable materials from the Jagger Reading Room, which was severely damaged in the runaway Table Mountain fire.

Visiting our fire-damaged upper campus, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation promised help and cooperation to UCT Libraries and to students.

UCT students from Fuller Hall and Smuts Hall have returned to campus after a devasting fire affected their residences.

Building processes have delayed the return of 44 Fuller Hall and Smuts Hall students to their residences, damaged by the recent mountain fire.

Three weeks after the devastating fire on campus, some students are presenting with clear signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The bravery of a small group from Smuts Hall – warden, subwardens and volunteers – helped save the residence and other buildings during the recent mountain fire.

After a massive fire at UCT two weeks ago, the UCT GSB’s Kumeshnee West was heartened by all the support received at their donation station.

Deputy Minister Buti Manamela visited UCT’s Rondebosch campus after the #UCTFire.

A palpable sense of relief permeated the air on Thursday, 22 April, as UCT students who had been evacuated during last week’s wildfire returned to their residences.

UCT student Tatum Mentoor said she kicked into survival mode while the Table Mountain fire raged in order to help one of her peers who was having an asthma attack.

UCT students affected by the devasting campus fire has returned to residences.

UCT staff remember the Jagger Reading Room after it was destroyed by a devasting campus fire.

A leading drone operator has been contracted to inspect the fire damage and provide information that will help to determine the total cost of the loss.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Buti Manamela met staff and clean-up volunteers during a site visit to UCT at the weekend.

Dismay and grief met the news that the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) historic Jagger Reading Room had been lost to fire on 18 April.

UCT works with Cape Town hotels to shelter students affected by the campus fire.

Staff of UCT Libraries gathered at the site of the Jagger Reading Room and shared personal anecdotes about the much-loved space.

Volunteers and sponsors support UCT students affected by the campus fire.

UCT students began returning to campus from their emergency accommodation sites following the recent fires that left some residences gutted.

A massive collaborative effort is under way to accommodate and support UCT residence students displaced by the fire.

Gift of the Givers supporting UCT students evacuated from residences

UCT’s Department of Student Affairs has set up satellite counselling and medical points at emergency student accommodation sites to provide students with much-needed support.

Following the devastating fires on the mountains behind UCT and around Cape Town, government and UCT leadership met to assess the damage and plot a way forward.

On Sunday, 18 April 2021, a runaway fire that started on the slopes of Devil’s Peak swept through several iconic buildings at the University of Cape Town.

Several UCT buildings have been gutted by an inferno which started on the slopes of Devil’s Peak on Sunday.

Disaster relief organisation Gift of the Givers has swung into action to help UCT students affected by the fires that began on Sunday morning.

The Department of Historical Studies’ Associate Professor Shamil Jeppie shares his reflections on the burning down of the Jagger Reading Room.

The Centre for African Studies’ Professor Horman Chitonge shares his reflection on the burning down of the Jagger Reading Room.

UCT’s Dr Tessa Dowling shares her reflections on the burning down of the Jagger Reading Room.

UCT alumnus and former staff member Morgan Morris shares his reflections on the burning down of the Jagger Reading Room.

Two academics from UCT’s Centre for Film and Media Studies share their reflections on the burning down of the Jagger Reading Room.

Three members of the UCT community share their reflections on the burning down of the Jagger Reading Room.

UCT alumnus and PASS staff member Yusuf Omar shares his reflections on the burning down of the Jagger Reading Room.

Luke Mackie wishes to thank all donors and volunteers for their contributions to the UCT Fire Relief Fund.

The director of the UCT Irma Stern Museum, Nadja Daehnke, wishes to thank all those involved for saving the museum from the flames.

Law Mugadhuyi thanks all parties involved for demonstrating love, care and concern in the wake of the recent Table Mountain fire that caused havoc on campus.

Fourth-year UCT civil engineering student Jade Buitendag gives her account of the Table Mountain fire.

Danielle Bergh gives her account of the recent Table Mountain fire that affected parts of Cape Town and UCT.

Clare Dembovsky wrote this poem to express the emotions she experienced when the recent Table Mountain fire wreaked havoc in Cape Town and at UCT.