A fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday morning (06 February 2022) in the basement of St George’s Cathedral in the Cape Town City Centre. This was confirmed on social media by the Dean of the Cathedral, Reverend Michael Weeder.

Weeder wrote: “The fire was an act of arson. It appears that a lit piece of cotton/gauze was thrown through the small, barred window near the steps leading up to the cathedral’s Wale Street entrance. Someone was spotted running away from the cathedral…The burglar bar had to be broken so that the firefighters could gain access. The cloister area door also had to be broken open as at one stage, the firefighters thought the fire was actually inside the cathedral. A police docket has been opened and an investigation (is) in progress.”

Cape Town Fire Services confirmed the incident at the Anglican Cathedral, but not the cause of the blaze.

Shortly after the fire, Weeder said that initial inspections showed there was no major damage to the Cathedral but that they still needed to gain access to the basement to be able to confirm the extent of the damage.