Pizza delivery man runs into burning home to save 5 children, jumps from second floor holding child

Editor's note: This article was originally published on July 18, 2022. It has since been updated.

A pizza delivery man risked his life to save five children from a burning home in Indiana in the dead of the night. Nicholas Bostic, 25, was driving past when he saw a home engulfed in flames and his natural instinct was to run in to save the inhabitants. Entering through the back door into the house engulfed by black smoke, he rescued four children aged 1 to 18 before re-entering the home to rescue the fifth child and exiting by jumping through a window holding the 6-year-old. He used his body to break the fall to protect the child.

The incident happened in Lafayette, Indiana, and the Lafayette Police Department confirmed that the child was "miraculously mostly uninjured," reported PEOPLE. Bostic suffered from severe smoke inhalation and had a deep gash on his arm. When the first responders arrived on the scene, the first words from his mouth were, "Please tell me that baby is OK." 

Bostic told local media that he saw the home in flames as he was driving and ran to help. Forcing his way through the back door as the smoke started filling the house, he reached the kids upstairs and rescued them. Once outside, the children told him that their 6-year-old sibling was still inside. He ran back "without hesitation" to the bedroom upstairs but found no one there despite his frantic search. He started to look for an exit when he heard the cries of a child downstairs.

Despite being frightened, he wrapped his shirt over his mouth and nose and ran through a "black lagoon" of smoke in the staircase to reach the screaming child. He found her but couldn't find an exit because of the black smoke. So he decided to run back upstairs, through the heat and the thick smoke. 

Bostic punched a window open before jumping out to the ground while holding the 6-year-old in his hand. He made sure the kid was protected as he landed on the ground. Despite the injury on his arm, he carried the crying child to the first responders who had arrived at the scene. He was scared that she had been injured. The first responders took her out of his arms and checked on her while a few medics urged him to lie on the lawn so they could check his vitals. "Is the baby OK? Please tell me that baby's OK," he could be heard pleading in the bodycam video of one of the officials, who assured him the baby was OK. "You did good, dude," one medic told him. Bostic was airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis, where he was treated before being released.

"Nicholas Bostic's heroic actions saved lives. His selflessness during this incident is inspiring, and he has impressed many with his courage, tenacity, and steadfast calmness in the face of such perilous danger. The Lafayette Police Department and the Honorable Mayor Tony Roswarski are eternally grateful for Nicholas' intervention and would like to publicly recognize him for his actions," said LPD in a statement.

A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help Bostic recover from his injuries. Bostic is set to be honored on August 2 at the Lafayette Aviators' National Night Out.