Ekurhuleni - A mother and her two children died when their house in Katlehong in Ekurhuleni caught alight on Friday night, the City of Ekurhuleni's disaster and emergency management services (DEMS) said.
"Frantic intervention" by Ekurhuleni DEMS firefighters could not save the lives of the three family members when their home was gutted by flames, DEMS spokesman William Ntladi said on Saturday.
The fire in the RDP house was reported to the City of Ekurhuleni emergency life threatening call centre at around 8.55pm, in Dikole section Katlehong. Firefighters from Palm Ridge and Zonkizizwe fire stations responded promptly to the scene, he said.
"On arrival, commanding flames were from the bedroom and the entire roof had already collapsed. Information received on [the] scene stated that the family was still trapped inside."
Picture: City of Ekurhuleni
After the fire had been extinguished, search and rescue officers found the charred bodies of a baby, believed to be three months old, a four-year-old boy, and the mother, believed to be in her mid-30s, in the burnt bedroom.
The scene was handed over to the police officers on the scene. The cause of the fire was still being investigated, but it was alleged to have been caused by an electrical heater left unmonitored, Tladi said.