WATCH: Blaze destroys family home

A man who was trying to rescue a puppy suffered burns.

A puppy lost its life in the blaze.

A Van Riebeeck Park home in Ekurhuleni was gutted following a blaze that began in the family home, the Kempton Express reports.

Property owner Alan Birkenfield, who was renting the house to a mother of three young girls, said a puppy died in the fire that began on of Monday night.

“When I arrived at the property at 10.10pm, I found paramedics attending to a man who had apparently suffered burns while trying to save a puppy. Firefighters were busy trying to put out the remaining fires and people had already gathered outside,” said Birkenfield.

The tenant lost all of her belongings that were inside the house.

A man trying to rescue a scarred puppy suffered some burns.

“The tenant said there was a spark from the fireplace. It landed on a mattress and quickly set the lounge alight. I think a gas bottle also exploded, but fortunately the woman and her children were safe.”

The fire is said to have started at around 9.45pm and spread across all the rooms of the double-storey building. The blaze engulfed all the tenant’s valuables, except what was in the double garage, laundry room and lapa, since those sections of the home are isolated from the building that burnt.

Van Rieebeck Park CPF sector one chairperson Rinaee Erasmus said they were asking for donations to assist the girls and their mother via resident WhatsApp groups.

Anyone wishing to donate can contact him directly on 082 758 7399.

The girls are aged six, 12 and 18 and wear shoe sizes of between four and seven. The older daughters wear clothes sized 36 and 38 and their mother wears size 40 and 42.