A power outage caused by an electrical substation fire could have contributed to the death of a Kempton Park woman on Wednesday.

Netcare 911 said its paramedics responded to a call in the area where a woman died due to carbon monoxide poisoning from a home generator.

An electrical substation in the area had caught fire on Tuesday and that was why the home generator was in use. It had been placed in the spare bedroom.

Paramedics say the carbon monoxide was at an unbearable level in the house.

"Paramedics had to break the door down to gain entry into the house. Once inside, they discovered the woman who was already dead.

"She was in the main bedroom, they also found the woman's son in the bathroom who was still alive. He was in a critical condition and was airlifted to the hospital," Netcare spokesperson Mark Stokoe said.

A number of family pets were also found dead inside the house.

Sapa