A man was seriously injured, his home damaged and two cars burnt to rubble when his generator exploded during load-shedding in Moreletapark, Pretoria, on Saturday.

Volunteer Emergency Medical Response Unit (VEMRU) spokesperson Casper Visser, who was at the scene, said the generator exploded in the man’s face as he switched it on.

Visser said the man was taken to hospital with serious burn wounds to the face and limps.

Visser told Pretoria Rekord that the man spared worse injuries because he quickly jumped into the swimming pool extinguishing the fire from his body.

“No one else was injured because the rest of the family and the pets managed to escape,” he said.

“The house was seriously damaged and it is not in a good condition at all.”

He said the family also lost two cars and many other items in the house.

“The metro’s firefighters arrived to extinguish the blaze just as it entered the main house saving most of the house.

“The patient received advanced life support intervention and was transported to a nearby hospital by Netcare 911,” he said.

Visser added that the cause of the explosion is unknown but investigations are under way to pinpoint the cause.