Last Saturday, July 11th, 25-year-old Nick Bostic of Lafayette, Indiana was in his car heading home around 12:30AM, when he saw flames that illuminated the darkness.
The flames he first saw was on the balcony, but in actuality, the entire house was already fully engulfed.
(These pics were taken when Nick and one child were still in the house !)
He pulled over, and damn it he forgot his phone which he had left at home.
Inside the house was an 18-year-old who was babysitting her siblings, ages 1, 6 and 13, and another 13-year-old who was there for a sleep over.
The parents were enjoying a rare night out.
The first responders hadn’t yet arrived.
Nick was the first responder.
He ran to the back of the house and gained entry through a window.
First searching the first floor and finding no one, he went upstairs, where he found all but one child.
They were all asleep.
As he led them downstairs and outside, "I asked them if anybody was left in there -- and that's when they told me that the 6-year-old was.”
And he went back in.
By that time, the smoke was so thick he could barely see, and the heat was such that his hair was singeing and he felt fear.
"The smoke just came out of nowhere. It was pitch black, pitch black. The heat was excruciating."
Real fear.
He thought then he might die.
"The last thing I could do was waste a second panicking."
And then he heard the faint cry.
He located the girl, and by then the bottom of the stairs were in flames.
So he broke an upstairs window with his arm, receiving a serious cut and wrapped his arms around the child.
"I grabbed her and held her snug and I ran up those stairs like a running back for the Colts. I jumped out that window."
Notice that when he was down on the ground being treated, his only concern was if the children were okay?
“Please tell me that the baby's okay….?”
He was taken to the emergency room for severe smoke inhalation and the gash to his arm.
He has since been released.
All of the children are doing well.
And the parents of the children?
"The dad said he'd love to take me out for a dinner.
They have wide-open arms welcoming me as a part of their family. I'm glad I was there at the right time, the right place. If opportunity came again and I had to do it, I would do it," he said. "I knew what I was risking. I knew the next second it could be my life.
But every second counted."
Nick’s lungs are pretty messed up, and more treatments will prove necessary.
If so inclined, a gofundme has been set-up to help him as he sees fit, and a forum for those of us who want to thank him in that way.
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And, with so many similar parallels….
The previous weekend, the Fourth of July weekend, on July 5th, at around 1:00 am, 23-year-old Haily Strong of Fairfield, Ohio was driving home from a friends party when she saw the greyish black smoke above the trees…. and then the flames.
Brittany Downing and Josh Ellis' attached garage was burning.
The couple was asleep, as were nine of their eleven children.
Unaware, due to faulty smoke detectors.
Until they heard Haily banging on their door, which she did for three minutes before Josh opened the door.
Said Josh, “I’m a heavy sleeper.
When you got 11 kids, you got to get some sleep.”
Said Haily, “I didn’t even realize until I was already banging on the door … I was praying that nothing exploded.
I saw the mom come out with a baby on her hip and two kids in her arms. The dad was piling kids out.”
“We’re indebted to her. It’s kind of cliché to say somebody saved your life, but she really did.”
The grateful family let her know she’s invited to every event from now on, every holiday, every birthday.
Because of her, they’ll all have many more to celebrate.
Haily’s reaction, “It’s a really emotional experience because it kind of solidified that these are real people that I helped out.”
Real people.
Everyday people, friends.
The people that you meet while you’re walking down the street.