"They lost everything, all their belongings," said Pieter Wessels Frail Care and Community Centre spokeswoman, Remsie Visser. 

"Everything is gone. They came out with nothing but their pyjamas," she told Sapa. 

Visser said she received a call early Sunday evening that there was fire at the old age home in Nigel. 

"They said I must come and help. The entire building was up in flames. 

"We called the fire brigade and just tried to get the people out and waited for help. Most of them are disabled. We couldn't get everyone out. 

"We are in a terrible state of shock," said Visser. 

She said fire fighters worked until the early hours of the morning to extinguish the blaze. 

"Only the walls are still standing," said Visser. 

The people who lived in the old age home had all been moved to other old age homes in the area by Monday midday. 

"They are in a state. Some are crying because they only realised now that they had lost everything. Some are too shocked to speak." 

After the blaze was brought under control, firemen searched the building and found the bodies of 17 people, Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said. 

An eighteenth person died of a suspected heart attack after the fire. 

"It was a lady who had a heart attack," said Visser. 

A total of 84 people were rescued in the fire that broke out around 9pm. 

Of those, one person was taken to hospital in a critical condition with 40 percent burn wounds, while two others had sustained serious injuries. 

Ekurhuleni emergency management services spokesman Roger Mamaila said the death toll remained at 18 around noon on Monday. 

Police spokesman Warrant Officer Tommy Tomlinson said forensic investigators were on the scene to try to find the cause of the fire.