A 25-year-old man in Lafayette, Indiana, saved the lives of four children and an 18-year-old Monday after noticing their house was on fire while driving by.
Nick Bostic was driving near the home a few minutes before 12:30 a.m. that day when he saw the house was covered in flames.
Heroic actions of a Lafayette Citizen saves the lives of several children! #hero #inspiring #courage #awesome @City_Lafayette pic.twitter.com/s5eLfNs21Q
— LafayetteINPolice (@LafayetteINPD) July 14, 2022
With no cell phone to call 911, Bostic jumped in to rescue the building’s inhabitants.
At first, according to reporting from WXIN-TV, Bostic shouted inside the house in an attempt to notify those inside that there was a blaze.
However, no one responded to his shouts. Not wanting to risk the possibility that the inhabitants could not hear him, Bostic decided to go through the home to find and rescue anyone stuck inside, the news station reported.
Speaking to the Based in Lafayette, Indiana Substack, Bostic said that when he had gone halfway upstairs, he noticed four individuals coming downstairs. His yelling had awakened them.
After walking them out through the back door, he asked them if anyone else was inside. That was when he learned that a 6-year-old child was left behind.
Would you have done the same in his position?
By that time, the fire department had responded to reports of the fire and, after learning that someone was stuck inside, began preparing for rescue, according to the Lafayette, Indiana, Police Department.
Meanwhile, Bostic, who was inside, scoured through beds and closets to find the 6-year-old. Bostic knew the risks of lingering around in the fire for too long, yet he was determined to locate and rescue the left-behind child.
“I mean, I was high-tailing it, 110%. It started to get hard to see because the smoke was getting bad,” Bostic told Based in Lafayette. “I don’t know how to explain it, but it was like I accepted I was going to probably die, right there, that night. But it was a weird calm. You just got to work as fast as you can,” he said.
He eventually located the girl after hearing some crying and then jumped out from the second-floor window after breaking it open with his fists, Fox News reported.
Daily Mail reported that the moments after Bostic landed on his right side were filmed on officers’ bodycams. He was filmed handing the child to the police before shouting, “I need oxygen.”
STUNNING: LPD body cam video shared with @WLFI shows local hero Nick Bostic carrying a 6-year-old child from a burning Lafayette home. pic.twitter.com/iinKcwKlux
— Joe Paul (@joesampaul) July 14, 2022
He was then administered first aid and flown to a hospital in Indianapolis, where he remained hospitalized until Wednesday, when he could talk to police about the incidents that transpired on Sunday night.
“His selflessness during this incident is inspiring, and he has impressed many with his courage, tenacity, and steadfast calmness in the face of such perilous danger,” the police department said in a news release.
Bostic has been honored by the police department, mayor and fire department of the city for his actions.
They also plan to honor him during the upcoming August 2 game between the Lafayette Aviators and Chillicothe Paints, the Daily Mail reported. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go toward the GoFundMe account to help pay Bostic’s medical bills from his hospital stay. As of Friday afternoon, $16,700 had been raised toward the $50,000 goal.
