An Indiana man is being dubbed a “hero” after rescuing four children and their 18-year-old sister from a burning house after noticing their porch was on fire as he drove by.
Nick Bostic, 25, of Lafayette, was pulling into a gas station around 12:30 a.m. Monday when he noticed the house on Union Street was on fire and pulled over.
“I saw the fire on the balcony, so I hit the brakes, pulled into the driveway, and ran into the house from the back. I yelled ‘is anyone in there?’ he told Fox 59.
Bostic, who works at a pizza restaurant, noticed four people between the ages of one and 18 coming down the stairs after being woken up by his screaming. When he asked if anyone else was in the house, he was told there was another six year old.
Bostic dove back into “pitch black air,” choked on smoke that “came out of nowhere,” and began checking under beds and in closets on the second floor before hearing a child quietly cry.
Despite being in a “black lagoon” of smoke, the heroic young man went further in, grabbed the child and ran upstairs to escape the flames and the “excruciating” heat.
He saved five people inside the home and had to contend with heavy smoke and “excruciating” heat. He also had to smash a second floor window to get the child out and jumped with the six-year-old in his arms before handing the child over to the police (pictured).
When he arrived, the fire was the size of a bonfire, but when rescuers arrived moments later, the whole house was ablaze (pictured). Bostic (bottom right) then sat stunned on the sidewalk
He had a serious injury to his upper right arm and bodycam footage shows police tying a tourniquet around it (pictured).
“It became difficult to see because the smoke was getting heavy. I don’t know how to explain it, but it was like I accepted that I would probably die right there that night. But it was an odd calm. You just have to work as fast as you can,” he told Lafayette, Indiana-based Substack.
To get out of the house, Bostic had to break through a second-story window and jump with the child in his arms.
Bostic told the blog Based in Lafayette that when he hit the window, nothing happened the first time, but he managed to break through the second time. However, the blinds had become tangled around the child’s leg and he had to untangle it before blindly jumping out the window.
“But it wasn’t like we didn’t have a choice back then,” he told the blog.
He landed on the right side with the child on the left, sustaining injuries to his back, arm and ankle. The child sustained minor injuries, police said.
Nick Bostic, 25, of Lafayette, was pulling into a gas station around 12:30 a.m. Monday when he noticed the house on Union Street was on fire and pulled over
Bostic is seen with a serious hand injury and lacerated legs
He was airlifted to the hospital and put on a ventilator (pictured) for smoke inhalation
When Bostic arrived, the fire was the size of a campfire, but by the time rescuers arrived moments later, the entire house was ablaze.
The intense flames prevented firefighters from entering the home, but after finding Bostic and another child were still inside, they “hastily” tried to get inside, the Lafayette Police Department said in a expression.
Dramatic bodycam footage shows the moments just after Bostic managed to get out of the house, as he pushed a screaming child into an officer’s arms before sitting down on the sidewalk, stunned.
Bostic can be heard yelling “I need oxygen” while gasping for air.
“I thought my last bit of energy was right where I landed. But I guess I had a little more, I don’t know, extra backup — like backup for backup — for one last push,” he told the blog.
Officers ask him to “cross the street” where it’s safer, and Bostic can be seen lying down on the ground while an officer prepares a tourniquet for him.
“I know it will hurt, okay, but it will stop the bleeding,” the officer told him.
Bostic, lying silently on the floor, his face contorted in pain, calmly told the officer, “Do it.”
He was airlifted to the hospital where he was put on a ventilator for smoke inhalation, lacerations to his legs, arms and right hand, and a serious injury to his right arm, among other injuries.
Lafayette police are now calling the man a “hero” and crediting his actions with “saving lives.”
The house (pictured after the fire) is seen with the top half completely burned. The fire is said to have started on the balcony
“His selflessness during this incident is inspiring, and he has impressed many with his courage, tenacity and unwavering calm in the face of such a dangerous threat,” police said in a statement.
However, the 25-year-old hero would not describe himself as one, saying: “I was in the right place at the right time and, I think, the right person.”
“If I was trapped or asleep up there and it’s on fire, I would hope that the guy driving would do the same if he was able,” he told Fox News.
He also said he hopes to be reunited with the family soon.
Bostic (pictured after being discharged from the hospital) is being honored by the police, fire department and mayor for his heroics at the upcoming Aviators baseball game, with a portion of ticket sales going towards medical bills on GoFundMe
Firefighters joined Bostic for a photo after he returned from his hospitalization (pictured).
The police, fire department and Mayor Tony Roswarski will now honor Bostic at the Aviators game on August 2nd. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Bostics GoFundMe.
The fundraiser, created by Bostic’s cousin, has raised $2,260 of his $50,000 goal in three days so far and will help the hero pay his medical bills.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.