WATCH: Edleen home goes up in flames

A family was left homeless with no belongings when their home on Duvenage Avenue, Edleen burnt down on Sunday at around midnight.

One of their neighbours heard popping sounds and looked out the window to see the house engulfed in flames.

“I was in bed listening to music. At first I thought they were breaking into our house and went to check. I saw a big fire and a lot of people in the road. There were no police or emergency services as yet,” explained the neighbour.

His brother reiterated his words.

“I thought there was a robbery taking place. I opened the window and screamed ‘fire’. The family was exiting the house at the time. I ran outside to assist them,” said the 17-year-old.

Neighbours tried to assist the family to remove the vehicles from the yard but found all the car keys were inside the house. The cars were not damaged.

Disaster and Emergency Management Services emergency planning manager and acting spokesman, Eric Maloka, said when emergency services arrived on the scene they found the house well alight.

“A portion of the roof had already collapsed and they immediately started with firefighting. The backup station was activated to assist,” explained Maloka.

Maloka added that it was later reported that one of the family members was transported to hospital by a private ambulance for treatment for smoke inhalation.

“The cause of the fire is a suspected electrical fault,” he said.