WATCH: House on fire – what they had on is all they had left

A father and son sat on an old tree trunk and watched as their rented home and all of their belongings went up in flames.

Emergencies services, security companies, firefighters and the Randburg SPCA were on scene making sure no living being was left in the house on Bothma Street. Dogs, two geese, and a monkey were taken to safety.

Max Cohen, spokesperson for Emer-g-med , released a statement which confirmed the following: “Fortunately, at this stage, no injuries have been reported and all occupants are believed to have safely escaped.

Paramedics assisted the family in getting their dogs, and other pets, out of harm’s way. They were loaded into the back of the M07, one of our accident management vehicles, and assessed for any obvious injuries, of which there were none. The fire department was called to the scene and are still currently fighting to get the fire under control.”

The residents of the house said the fire was caused by an explosion in the outside dustbin. The trees near the house caught fire and then the flames jumped onto the thatch roof. They had accepted they had lost everything but the fire died down and the son was able to grab two baskets full of clothes.

Watch the fire when the flames were at its worst:

Emergency services were alerted to the incident around 1pm today.

Joburg Emergency Management Service firefighters confirmed that the structure had been compromised and the building would not be saved as they would not be able to extinguish the fire while there were wood and thatch that could still burn.

The roof of the neighbouring house also caught alight but firefighters were quick to begin removing the thatch from the roof to kill the fire.

More details to follow.