BRITISH High Commissioner Dame Maeve Fort appears destined to spend the larger part of the next few months in quarters in Pretoria after fire gutted her official Cape Town residence on Tuesday afternoon. The fire — reportedly set off when maintenance workers used a blowtorch to heat tar while waterproofing the thatched roof of the residency — caused extensive damage and destroyed artifacts and antiques estimated to be worth millions of rands. Local estate agents estimate the value of the building alone to be about R15 million. According to a spokesperson for the British High Commission, alternative arrangements for Dame Fort’s accommodation in Cape Town will be worked out later this week.