A six-year-old boy allegedly set his mother's SUV alight at their home in Waterloo on Thursday afternoon.
It is alleged the child was playing with matches in the vehicle.
Prem Balram, the head of Reaction Unit South Africa, a private security company, said a resident contacted the company's operations centre at about 3.30pm for assistance.
"On arrival, reaction officers discovered the vehicle, a Mercedes Benz SUV, engulfed in flames."
He said according to the owner, the vehicle experienced mechanical failure and was parked in the yard.
Balram said the owner told reaction officers that her six-year-old son was playing in the vehicle when it caught alight.
"The child admitted to using matches to set the vehicle alight."
Balram added that the child was not injured.
He said firefighters were called to the scene to extinguish the blaze.
Police did not comment at the time of publication.