Nicholas Bostic had a bad night on July 11, 2022. The 25-year-old pizza delivery guy from Lafayette, Indiana got into a fight with his girlfriend. He decided to take his car out for a drive to calm down around midnight.
According to ABC 7 NY, while he was driving down Union Street, Bostic saw what looked like a small fire at a house. He hit the brakes hard and backed up his car to see better. The two-story house was covered in flames, and no fire trucks or police had shown up yet. He didn’t have his phone with him to call 911, so he had to make a quick choice.
He drove into the driveway and ran to the back of the house. “I hightailed my butt into the house,” Bostic said later. He shouted to check if anyone was home but nobody answered. Instead of thinking everyone got out safely, he went upstairs through all the smoke. He found four kids there, including an 18-year-old girl who was watching her younger siblings (ages 1, 6, and 13) and another 13-year-old friend.
This guy literally jumped out of a window with a child in his arms
Their parents, David and Tiera Barrett, were having date night when they got a scary phone call saying their house was burning. Bostic helped the four kids get downstairs and outside where it was safe. But when they got to the back door, the kids told him a 6-year-old girl named Kaylani was still somewhere in the house. He didn’t think twice and went right back into the fire.
The smoke was so bad that he had to wrap his shirt over his nose and mouth. He got down on the floor and crawled around, listening carefully to find the crying child. He said the heat felt like being inside an oven.
Nicholas Bostic, a 25-year-old pizza delivery man from Lafayette, has been awarded The Carnegie Medal for his heroic actions in saving five children from a burning home. On July 11, 2022, Bostic risked his life to rescue the kids after a fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. on Union… pic.twitter.com/3dGSRwMCGR
— Restoring Your Faith in Humanity (@HumanityChad) November 9, 2025
After he found Kaylani by the living room, Bostic grabbed her and ran back upstairs. The fire had gotten too big to go out through the back door anymore. The only way out was through a window on the second floor. Bostic broke the glass with his hand, which cut his arm really bad.
Then he jumped out of that window while holding the 6-year-old, and he made sure to land on his right side so she wouldn’t get hurt. Police cameras recorded what happened next when Bostic gave Kaylani to the officers and fell down on the ground. While the medics were helping him, he kept saying, “Is the baby OK? Please tell me the baby’s OK.”
On July 11, 2022, in Lafayette, Indiana, 25-year-old Nicholas Bostic became a real-life hero. While driving late at night, he noticed a house engulfed in flames. Without a phone to call 911, he acted on instinct. Entering through the back door, he found four children – ages 1,… pic.twitter.com/Cmrn1DphVC
— Entering Manhood (@EnterManhood) May 20, 2025
The little girl only got a small cut on her foot, but Bostic had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital in Indianapolis because he breathed in too much smoke, got burns, and had a deep cut on his arm. He stayed in the hospital for three days.
Stories of heroic rescues like this show how ordinary people can save lives in extraordinary circumstances, just like this Texas resident who survived floodwaters for three hours before being rescued. Even though he got hurt badly, Bostic didn’t act like he did anything special. “It was all worth it,” he told WLFI-TV. “I kept reminding myself what a small sacrifice. This temporary pain, it’s so worth it.”
In March 2023, Bostic got the Carnegie Medal, which is the biggest award regular people can get for being brave in the United States. His bravery stands out among other dramatic rescue stories, where authorities have saved people from dangerous situations.
The Barrett family now thinks of him as part of their own family. David Barrett said, “God uses the most unlikely characters. He sent an angel.”
