The Flame of Remembrance for fallen soldiers or heroes at Parliament was switched off last month for security reasons, but is now back on.
|||The Flame of Remembrance for fallen soldiers or heroes at Parliament was switched off last month for security reasons, but was now back on, an official said on Tuesday.
This followed reports on Sunday that the flame had been turned off because the department neglected it, public works spokesman Thami Mchunu said in a statement.
“In late October, early November 2011, the flame began to give intermittent problems and a number of components had to be replaced,” he said.
“Despite the efforts, by mid-December, the thermocouple, which had been recently fitted, suddenly failed.”
Because of the December holiday, the new component could not be immediately found.
The system's components were deemed dangerous, so the public works department decided to switch off the flame.
“The flame which is still fuelled by the bottled LP gas, is now back on, posing no threats to the security of people visiting the site,” he said.
The department monitors and maintained the Flame of Remembrance, which is situated within the parliamentary precinct, close to the main gates. - Sapa