The Tjie family, from Extension 24, woke up to an “uncontrollable blaze” during the early hours of Sunday morning.

A tenant injured his hand while trying to escape the fire and was taken to the hospital.

Community members came out in numbers to assist in extinguishing the fire. They used buckets of water and sand as well as hose pipes.

According to Mr Tjie, one of his tenants fell asleep with a candle still burning after the electricity went off early that evening.

The home owner blames load shedding for the incident.

“My tenant wouldn’t have lit a candle had the electricity not gone off. This load shedding has left me with damages worth hundreds of rand’s.”

The Fire Department was called but by the time they arrived on the scene the community had already successfully extinguished the fire.

As the family was cleaning up on Monday morning damaged laptops, cellphones, stoves and beds were found.

“Because we are forced to use candles and primus stoves during load shedding, I would like to advice people to always ensure that they are switched off to avoid suffering the same fate, especially those who live in shacks,” Mrs Jester Tjie said.

The Tjie family would like to thank the community of Extension 24 for their assistance.

A video of the aftermath of the blaze is available on www.mobserver.co.za.