Historic building near Cape Town police station gutted by fire

An historic three-storey building in central Cape Town was gutted by fire early on Wednesday.

The alarm was raised at 1am, said Cape Town fire and rescue service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse.

He said 17 firefighting appliances and 70 staff contained the blaze in Albertus Street, near Cape Town Central police station and opposite the District Six Museum, just after 6am.

"Crews managed to prevent the spread of fire to the adjacent art gallery," Carelse said at 8am.

"We have several crews still at the scene. The building has been deemed unsafe and a building inspector has been requested to ascertain the structural integrity of the premises.

"No one was injured in the blaze."

TimesLIVE