Details have emerged on how a group of street boys put their lives on the line to rescue people trapped inside buildings during the Thursday Gikomba market fire that left 17 dead and 74 injured.
Residents revealed that streetboys were the first responders at the scene and shouted to raise an alarm after they heard a loud blast when power cables began sparking.
One of the boys, Tyson Maina, disclosed that he woke up his friends who live under a bridge close to the market.
“I was woken up by a blast that was followed by a series of sparking on power cables near the market.
“We started shouting to warn people who were sleeping in the flats, but our efforts to save them were thwarted by security guards, who locked the gates to the apartment blocks fearing that looters would invade them," he revealed.
[caption caption="Joseph Muge and Tyson Maina on June 28, 2018 at Gikomba market courtesy of Nation"]
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They then rushed to a nearby river to fetch water which they tried to use to put out the fire but police soon ordered them to leave the area.
Undeterred, they forced their way into a nearby building where several people were still trapped.
“We then forced our way into a nearby building to rescue those who were trapped. There were bodies along the staircases in one of the buildings. I counted more than ten bodies,” Maina stated.
They went up to the third floor rescuing people before the heat and smoke became overwhelming.
Beth Njambi, an eyewitness, disclosed that the street boys were the first responders and that, in fact, some died during the rescue mission.
"They came here very fast and started putting out the fire with water from the river before the government rescue team and the Red Cross arrived,” she stated.
According to Njambi, the street boys rescued at least four people.
[caption caption="Scenes from the fire at Gikomba market on 28/06/2018"]
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