Blakeview, Adelaide: Housemates forced to flee burning home after making a crucial error with their winter firepit

Four housemates have narrowly escaped with their lives after a mistake in disposing of hot ashes ignited a fire that engulfed their home.

The tenants managed to flee the home at Blakeview in Adelaide's north after being woken up to smoke filling their bedrooms about 2:30am on Monday.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze after it tore through the front room and destroyed about $25,000 worth of electronics and gaming equipment.

The fire appears to have started after ashes from a firepit at the home were dumped in a wheelie bin.

But the ashes were not fully extinguished and embers reignited a blaze about 14 hours later.

The incident comes weeks after another fire started by ashes that were unsafely dumped in a bin caused about $30,000 worth of damage to a home in Dover Gardens.

CCTV footage shows the fire spreading outside the front of the home before one of the housemates, Shannon Roe, can be heard saying: 'Oh what the f*** ... Get up!'

'I woke up coughing, I tried to get back to sleep thinking I'm just being overdramatic,' Mr Roe told 7News.

He managed to help his housemates and pets to escape into their backyard where they had to remain until the blaze was extinguished.

The total cost of the damage is expected to exceed $300,000 but Mr Roe said he was just glad no lives were lost.

'The main thing is that I'm glad everyone is safe, at the end of the day, it's possessions, we can replace those, but we can't replace people,' he said.

'It's not something you expect to happen.'

The residents have now been forced to move back in with relatives as they search for another rental.

Fire and waste authorities warned residents against placing ashes into household, plastic or council bins unless they're completely cooled and no longer have any embers.

'Ashes and charcoal can go into your green bin but only once completely extinguished and cold,' warns the state's recycling campaign, Which Bin, on its website.

'If wood, charcoal or ash is still hot it can burn your bin or cause fires within the collection trucks, which can damage equipment and put drivers at risk.'