In the early hours of Monday, 26 August 2025, a catastrophic fire ravaged the Nitijela—the parliament building of the Republic of the Marshall Islands—consuming chambers, offices, the library, and all parliamentary archives in Majuro. The blaze erupted around midnight and, by the time local emergency responders arrived, the inferno had already overwhelmed the structure.
As the fire department in the Marshall Islands is limited—effectively little more than an airport firefighting team—the response was delayed by over an hour. By then, the building was enveloped in flames, and despite the concrete frame remaining, much of the parliamentary complex was rendered unusable and continues to smolder into Tuesday afternoon.
The scale of loss is especially troubling: the fire obliterated all historical records, archives, and legislative documents. According to Giff Johnson, RNZ’s correspondent in Majuro, “everything’s wiped out. All the records are gone.” The complete digitisation of the archives provides some hope, but rebuilding the repository of national records and reconstructing the archives is projected to be a complex, multi-week endeavour.
The fire struck while parliament was in session, underscoring the immediate challenge: Nitijela requires a new site to convene. Meanwhile, Cabinet has rapidly endorsed an emergency plan to fast-track the construction of a new parliament building, prioritizing it over previously planned developments for a new government capital complex. Construction is expected to commence before the year’s end.
Preliminary government reports suggest the fire may have originated from a container trailer parked adjacent to the building—a detail that reinforces concerns about infrastructure and safety preparedness in Majuro. The delays in firefighting response bring renewed urgency to improving emergency capabilities across the nation.
Beyond the physical and logistical damage, the fire inflicts a profound symbolic blow. The Nitijela, as the site of democratic governance, held both institutional and historical significance. With archives destroyed and the chambers gone, national identity and administrative continuity now hinge on swift reconstruction and secure handling of remaining records.
As Majuro enters this crisis, President Hilda Heine and her Cabinet face immediate priorities: restoring parliamentary function, salvaging whatever records can be pieced together, and ensuring a new, resilient legislative building emerges as both a practical and symbolic cornerstone of democracy in the Marshall Islands.
