Nicholas L. Bostic

A passerby on July 11 suffered from smoke inhalation, first- and second-degree burns, and a serious laceration to his arm, after jumping from a second-story window holding a 6-year-old girl to escape spreading and growing flames. Nicholas L. Bostic, a local pizza delivery man, 25, was driving in a residential neighborhood in Lafayette, Indiana, when he saw a burning home. He entered the home through the back door, calling out to determine if anyone was inside. Hearing nothing, he went upstairs and saw an 18-year-old woman with two 13-year-old girls and a toddler, 20 months old. Leading them outside, they told him the 6-year-old remained inside. He reentered the home and frantically searched the upstairs bedrooms as conditions worsened inside the home. As smoke filled the main level of the home, Bostic considered jumping through a window, but then heard the girl’s cries. Following them, he returned to the main level, which was filled with smoke and blistering heat. With no visibility, he found the girl, picked her up, and retreated to the upper level. He entered a burning bedroom and punched through a window with his fist. With the girl in his arms, he jumped through to the ground. The girl suffered an injury to her leg from the broken glass, but she recovered. Bostic was hospitalized for three days, but he, too, recovered.