LAFAYETTE, Ind. — More than two weeks later, 25-year-old Nicholas Bostic is still recovering.
“Part of the fire landed on me and just kind of melted and stuck and kept singeing,” Bostic said as he pointed to some of his burns and scrapes, along with his stitches.
Despite the pain, he said it was all worth it.
On July 11, Bostic saved five kids from a burning home. It happened around 12:30 a.m. in the 2200 block of Union Street.
He said he was driving by the home when he saw the fire. Bostic stopped in the road, put his car in reverse, turned around and pulled into the driveway.
Knowing he had to act, Bostic said he ran around the back of the home and went inside, yelling to try to alert anyone that could be inside the burning home.
Bostic said nobody answered his call, possibly meaning everyone had already gotten out. Instead of taking that chance, Bostic said he went in and went up the stairs, where he found four kids.
“I went in through the back door and the second step of the staircase is when I saw the faces coming out and they ran past me. I followed behind and then at the back porch I asked them if there was anyone left in the house,” Bostic said.
That’s when he learned a 6-year-old girl was still inside. Without hesitation, Bostic went back inside.
He wrapped his shirt around his mouth and nose before going through the smoke and fire. Bostic said 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.
Crawling on the ground, Bostic was able to locate the 6-year-old girl and took her upstairs. Then, he broke a window by punching it with his hand to get out of the burning home.
“We looked out the window and I went shoulders first through it and I landed on my right side with her on my left side,” he said.
Bostic suffered severe smoke inhalation and a cut on his right arm. He was flown to an Indianapolis hospital for treatment where he stayed for a few days.
As soon as he could leave, Bostic made a special visit to see the family he saved. Since then, they continue to spend time together
“We went to church a lot, every Sunday since the incident,” he said.
Bostic will be honored Aug. 2 during "National Night Out" at the Lafayette Aviators baseball game.
Attendees can save $2 on tickets with the promo code FUND2022, and $4 of each ticket price will be donated to Bostic's GoFundMe page.
A fundraiser has also been started for the Barrett family who was inside the house at the time. Even though everyone made it out, the family lost everything in the fire. Click here to donate to the family.