A homeless man is being hailed as a hero after his courageous act of scaling a three-story building engulfed in flames to rescue 25 dogs trapped on the roof.
The fire initially broke out at a recycling plant in Gamarra, a town in Lima. Sebastián Arias, a Colombian national, spotted the blaze while walking near a bridge. At that moment, he thought about his wife, who recently attempted suicide upon learning of her pregnancy. Arias noticed the animals trapped on the roof and immediately took action.
A video capturing the daring rescue shows Arias manoeuvring himself across the balcony railing of a third-floor apartment. With the encouragement of onlookers, he smashed a window and made his way onto the ledge.
Despite his fear of heights, Arias climbed along the building's facade to reach the last of the 25 dogs, who was crawling away from the thick smoke. Positioned at the corner of the roof, the dog was standing on top of a column. Arias swiftly grabbed the dog and tossed it to a crowd on the sidewalk.
Although a fire department unit had set up a ladder reaching the second-floor balcony, Arias decided to jump to the ground instead. A proud owner of three dogs himself, he risked his life out of concern for the animals.
Arias admitted to being driven by adrenaline during the rescue. The last dog, which had sustained burns and bit Arias's left hand, proved to be a challenging rescue. Fearing the collapsing wall, Arias aggressively grabbed the dog by the neck and mouth before safely tossing it to safety.
Having left his home in Medellín, Colombia, several months ago, Arias has not seen his family and had contemplated crossing into Chile. However, his current wish is to remain in Peru and find employment with the help of someone compassionate.
He expressed a strong desire to leave the streets behind and highlighted his versatility and ability to quickly learn new skills. At least two of the rescued dogs have already found new homes, with one being adopted by the town's mayor.
