Indiana Man To Be Honored For Saving 5 From Housefire

An Indiana man is being honored by the city as a hero after he charged into a house fire that had turned into a raging inferno to rescue a young girl. Nicholas Bostic said he was out driving around after an argument with his girlfriend when he saw the house engulfed in flames. He said he immediately turned his car around and ran to the back of the house yelling to wake the occupants.

The eldest sister, 18-year-old Seionna Barret, was babysitting her three siblings, ages 1, 6 and 13, along with a 13-year-old friend of her sibling while her parents were having a date night. She had awoken to the fire in the living room and gathered everyone upstairs while calling her parents to tell them the house was on fire and they were still inside. As her panicked parents David and Tiera Barret raced home, Seionna said they reached an upstairs window when they encountered Bostic.

Bostic said 4 faces appeared in an upstairs window at the back of the house and he helped get them outside. Seionna realized her 6 year old sister was missing and Bostic didn’t hesitate to run back inside. After checking all the bedrooms on the second floor, he still had not found the youngster. He then heard faint cries from the first floor which he described as a black lagoon of smoke.

He wrapped his shirt around his mouth and crawled downstairs to search for her. Once he found her, he ran back upstairs, knowing that was their only way out. Bostic smashed a window with his bare hand and jumped down onto the lawn where a fire and rescue team had arrived and were beginning work to put out the fire.

Bostic suffered multiple injuries including 1st degree burns, severe smoke inhalation and deep lacerations to his hand. Body camera video which captured the aftermath of the jump shows Bostic handing the little girl to police and collapsing on the pavement. While receiving treatment, Bostic is seen asking “Is the baby OK? Please tell me the baby’s OK,” before someone off camera assures him she is and that he did good. Bostic was airlifted to the hospital while the child suffered a minor cut to her foot.

Bostic’s cousin set up a GoFundMe to help with medical bills which surpassed the $100,000 goal by amassing $556,000. The city plans to honor him at the next Lafayette Aviators minor league baseball game. Bostic said the experience gave him a new lease on life and the grateful family has welcomed him into their lives as one of their own.