The structure at the main entrance to the parliament building was still standing but the building and its contents were decimated. Photo: Giff Johnson. Photo: Giff Johnson
In the immediate aftermath of a devastating fire that destroyed the Marshall Islands parliament building on Tuesday, the government's Cabinet declared a plan to fast-track the building of a new parliament complex.
The fire, which started late Monday evening and turned into an inferno by the early hours of Tuesday morning, destroyed the parliament chamber, its archives and library section, offices and meeting rooms.
With Cabinet placing a priority on constructing a new parliament building, this will now leapfrog ahead of the new capital building that is about to go into a design phase before construction starts. The four-story capital facility was demolished earlier this year by Pacific International Inc. in preparation for the building of a new government headquarters.
Now the government must develop both a new parliament and capital building located at the same site. The government of Taiwan has already pledged over US$30 million to fund the building of a new capital.
A bulldozer attempted to create a fire break during the blaze that destroyed the Marshall Islands parliament early on August 26. Photo: Chewy Lin. Photo: Chewy Lin
It's not yet clear what funding sources will be used to rebuild the parliament building. But US Congresswoman Amata Coleman Radewagen of American Samoa has already said she will look at options for United States support for a new parliament.
Radewagen was in the parliament building in January 2024 for the inauguration of President Heine and has longstanding family ties to the Marshall Islands.
"The Marshalls are like a second home to me," she said.
"I spent part of my youth on Majuro when my father was head of government and through children produced by sibling marriage, the blood of the Marshalls runs through the veins of my family.
"So, this fire is personal to me and I will do all in my power to help the government in its restoration efforts."
Even as firefighters were still on the parliament site dousing the smoldering fire remains Tuesday afternoon, President Hilda Heine issued a short statement describing the situation and the government's next steps.
Photo: Supplied
In her social media address, President Heine told the nation that the foundation of democracy and culture will never falter.
"As we see the ashes, it is a depressing sight to behold as Marshallese," she said.
"The Nitijela is a symbol of democracy, a place where our leaders converge and determine the future of our islands."
The President vowed to start the work for a new parliament building before the end of this year.
Meantime, parliament is expected to resume its ongoing session early next week in the International Conference Center. It was already being set up Wednesday as a temporary meeting location for the parliamentarians.
The fire has caused irreparable harm to historical documents that were stored in the Nitijela library and archives, which were consumed by the fire. This includes many original documents, including the history of the first Constitutional Convention and the early Nitijela bills from its 1979 establishment forward.
Most bills and resolutions that were adopted over the years are available on the Nitijela website, rmiparliament.org.
Nitijela Legislative Counsel Joe Lomae said the entire Marshall Islands Revised Code - its laws - are digitized.
Lomae said he was able to get into his office to save records. "I managed to run into my office to get my external (hard drive) and the CPU," he said.
Although there was no official report available on the possible causes of the fire, two important factors were in play.
There is currently no functional Marshall Islands Police Department fire truck. The one fire truck based at the downtown police headquarters nearby the parliament has been out of service for months awaiting parts - meaning the downtown area, where a majority of the population of 20,000 people live, has no fire truck available.
The Amata Kabua International Airport firefighters were called in to respond. They arrived perhaps 60 minutes later, which given mobilization time and the drive to town was a not unreasonable response time. Still, by this time, the fire was already consuming the archives section and had moved into the main parliament building.
It is speculated that a small fire in this area got out of control and quickly spread, causing the blaze that destroyed the parliament.
