Firefighters were called to put out the blaze after it broke out in two cells in the Medium B Section of the Bryanston jail.
Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Thabang Makwetla says since Operation Vala started there have been 16 attempted suicides at some prisons.
Deputy Correctional Services Minister Thabang Makwetla revealed the figures on Thursday during a surprise prison raid at the Leeuwkop Correctional Centre in Bryanston.
Deputy Correctional Services Minister Thabang Makwetla conducted a surprise raid at the Leeuwkop prison facility as part of the department's Operation Vala.
Marijuana, cellphones and electronic appliances were some of the contraband confiscated at Leeuwkop Prison during a surprise raid.
Grace Molatedi says of the R4 billion received by Correctional Services, close to R3 billion goes to paying staff.
Take a tour with EWN as we go inside one of Johannesburg's maximum security facilities and speak to inmates Kobus Pretorius and Nhlanhla Mlambo on their life behind bars.
The facility accommodates over 36,000 offenders and that number increases on a daily basis.
Krejcir and his two co-accused, Desai Luphondo and Jan Lefu Mofokeng, as well as three others, were convicted in 2015 on charges relating to the kidnapping and torture of a man.
Emergency services say two prisoners are in a critical condition.
Inmates maintain the garden, which aids both their rehabilitation and feeds local school children.
Correctional Services has moved Henry Okah after he tried to break out of jail.
