An Indiana man is being hailed as a hero for rescuing five people, including four kids, from a home that was fully engulfed in flames. Around 12:30 a.m. on July 11th, Nick Bostic was driving home and saw that a home was on fire. He instantly pulled into the driveway and went to the back of the house.
Bostic told WXIN, “I saw the fire on the balcony so I slammed on the brakes, pulled in the driveway, and ran into the house from the back. I was hollering ‘Is there anybody in there?'”
Bostic busted into the burning house. The 25-year-old Lafayette male assisted three kids– as young as 2 years of age– and their 18-year-old sister get away from the inferno. The group informed him that there was still a 6-year-old child caught in the blazing house.
The fire had actually grown in size, and the smoke made it tough to breathe and see.
“The smoke just came out of nowhere. It was pitch black, pitch black. The heat was excruciating,” Bostic explained.
Emergency workers stated they could not go into the blazing house because of the “intensity of the fire.”
“Nicholas wrapped his shirt around his mouth and nose and plunged into the blackness,” the city of Lafayette said in a statement. “He described it as so black that he couldn’t see anything in front of him, and the heat from the fire made it seem as if he was walking into an oven.”
He was able to find the 6-year-old lady, however, the only exit readily available was through a window on the 2nd floor.
“I grabbed her and held her snug and I ran up those stairs like a running back for the Colts. I jumped out that window,” Bostic said. “I was just pushing time on its edge. I was pushing its limit, literally pushed its limit to the last millisecond. I just got lucky.”
Bostic broke the window by punching the glass with his bare hands.
Remarkable police bodycam video reveals the minute that Bostic emerged from the overwhelming scene carrying the child away from the fully engaged fire.
Bodycam video reveals an officer tending to Bostic’s injuries, including using a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Bostic asks emergency workers, “Is the baby OK? Please tell me that baby’s OK.”
MORE:
Bostic: "Is the baby OK? Please tell me that baby's OK." pic.twitter.com/weTJZ8lKXt
— Joe Paul (@joesampaul) July 14, 2022
Police took note that the 6-year-old was “miraculously mostly uninjured.”
Bostic was seriously hurt in the frenzied rescue, experiencing serious smoke inhalation, burns, and cuts on his legs and arms. Bostic was flown to a hospital in Indianapolis. Bostic told the press that he had been released after several days of treatment.
“The front of my hand, it’s cut up pretty bad,” Bostic said. “They rewrapped it before I left. But I got a cut right here, a possible severed tendon. The bottom of my hands are blistered like I grabbed something hot. I recall seeing flames through the window as I was punching it out.”
“Waking up every morning I have something to remind me of why I’m here, still alive. Why God keeps me here,” Bostic told News 18, according to Fox News. “He used me like his instrument that night.”
Bostic was recognized for his brave actions by the Lafayette Police Department, the Lafayette Fire Department, and Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski.
“Nicholas Bostic’s heroic actions saved lives. 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 city of Lafayette said in a statement.
The fire was ruled unintentional, however, is still under examination.
H/T The Blaze
