“It is one of those things; it happens,” said Nic Prinsloo from the Netcare Linmed Hospital.
“It happens; you can’t stop it.
“It does not help crying about it now, I just have to focus on what’s ahead.”
The fire started at the Elm Road property at around noon.
Prinsloo said he made something to eat and read a book in the front of the house after he had eaten.
Before long, he heard a crackling sound.
When he walked to the kitchen to investigate, the entire room was on fire.
He ran outside and, with the help of a neighbours employee, Boetie Romen, started using buckets filled with water to extinguish the fire.
Prinsloo was unable to re-enter the two-bedroom home once he first left due to the size of the blaze.
The pair fought the blaze from the back door for about 30 minutes before retreating.
The victim said the fire made its way into the home from long grass which caught alight on the property.
He was admitted to hospital for smoke inhalation.
Prinsloo was due to be discharged shortly after 4pm and would return to the premises to assess the damage to his home, where he lives alone.
The 70-year-old said he might stay with family in Northmead or Pretoria tonight.
