Donations are pouring into a GoFundMe page set up for an Indiana pizza man who twice ran into a burning house last week to save five people, including a child with whom he jumped out of a second-story window.
Nicholas Bostic, 25, sustained smoke inhalation and other injuries after spotting the Lafayette house ablaze and springing into action. Now, people from all over the world, moved by his heroism, have chipped in nearly half a million dollars to help fund his recovery.
“This kid is the real deal,” Bostic’s cousin, Richard Stair, who set up the page, wrote. “Sadly, he has some serious injuries and will need help during his recovery.”
For those asking if they have a fund raiser, they have:https://t.co/ILEZnBN50c
— Mad Artz Esports Logo Design (@LaganzonDarwin) July 17, 2022
Bostic was on his way to fill up his gas tank just after midnight on July 11 when he saw flames shooting from a two-story house in his hometown. He pulled into the driveway, intending to call 911, only to realize he’d left his phone at home. According to the Washington Post, he ran to the back of the house, found an unlocked door, and raced inside.
“I shouted, ‘Anybody here? Get out! Get out! Fire!’” Bostic said in an interview from the hospital, where he is slowly recuperating.
No one responded, but as he prepared to leave, he spied a teenager with some children at the top of the stairs. It was Seionna Barrett, 18, who was babysitting her three siblings and her sister’s friend while their parents were out on a date.
Bostic shepherded them outside, but then Seionna told him “Baby K,” the family’s nickname for six-year-old Kaylani, was still inside. He went back into the burning home and searched, despite acrid smoke and searing heat.
“I ran inside and looked under beds and closets, but I couldn’t find her,” he told the Washington Post. “But when I got to the stairs that led downstairs, I heard some faint crying.”
Bostic felt through the darkness, following the cries until he found Kaylani and scooped her up. But they were trapped by the flames.
“It was extremely hot and smoky, and it was painful to breathe,” he said. “The only light I could see was coming from the rooms upstairs. So I headed up there.”
He broke open a window with his right fist, tightly wrapped the girl around his left side, and leaped two stories to the ground, landing on his right side, sparing the girl from the force of his fall, he said.
“His selflessness during this incident is inspiring,” Lt. Randy Sherer of the Lafayette Police Department told the Post. “He went down those stairs to save that little girl when he thought it was impossible just moments before. He knew he was risking his life. There’s only one way to define that: courageous and heroic.”
Bostic sustained first-degree burns on his buttocks, right ankle, and right arm. But he saved Seionna; Shaylee, 13; Kaylani, Kaleia, 1, and Shaylee’s friend, Livian Knifley, 13.
Inspired donors heaped praise on Bostic, who delivers pizzas for a local Papa John’s franchise.
“This world needs more people like you,” wrote Ashley Bajerski. “Thank you for saving those young children.”
“You are an inspiration for everyone!” wrote Eduardo Perez-Tobon. “Wishing you a speedy recovery!!