He called out to learn if anyone was home. Receiving no response, Nick went upstairs and found four young people sleeping, ages one to 18 years of age. He led them out of the house and was told that a six-year-old girl was still missing. He reentered the home, which was now filled with smoke. He began searching for the little girl, although he was unable to see much of anything. He heard a small whimper, followed the sound, and grabbed the little girl. Knowing it would be nearly impossible to find their way back downstairs, he smashed a window and jumped from the second floor while protecting the small child.
As firefighters arrived, Nick was seen walking from the flames, holding the child, and handing her over to the paramedics.
“I did try to find the back door, but I couldn’t find it and I didn’t want to get too lost,” Bostic told CNN affiliate WLFI.
Nick was seriously hurt. As he was being treated on the scene, he asked: “Is the baby, ok? Please tell me that baby is ok,” Bostic asks as he is receiving medical attention. A police officer confirms and tells him, “You did good, dude.”
Nick was suffering from smoke inhalation, deep cuts on his arm from breaking the second-floor window, and a severed tendon.
“Nicholas Bostic’s heroic actions saved lives,” Lafayette Police said in the statement. “His selflessness during this incident is inspiring, and he impressed many with his courage, tenacity, and steadfast calmness in the face of such perilous dangers.”
Nick says he doesn’t see himself as a hero. He said that if someone had seen something similar happening to him and his family, they would have done the same thing.
“It was all worth it. I kept reminding myself what a small sacrifice. This temporary pain … it’s so worth it,” he told WLFI-TV.
A GoFundMe page was set up to pay for his medical bills. The goal was $100,000. So far, Nick has received more than $470,000.
I write about so many things which are bad about our country. This story is such a joy and the reason our country is worth saving. I would like to believe that there are thousands of other men and women out there like Nick Bostic. This is what America is all about.
The next time I write about another corrupt politician or a government employee whose loyalty is to an individual and not his or her country, I will keep this story in the front of my mind, knowing that there are far more good people in our country than bad.
By James Turnage, Novelist
Sources:
AP: Man saves 5 from house fire; jumps out window to save girl
CNN: A man driving by a burning home in Indiana stops to rescue 5 children inside; by Claudia Dominguez
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Kevin Baird’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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