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A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 21 July 2022
Man saves 5 from house fire; jumps out window to save girl

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — An He said he’s not a hero,
Indiana man who ran into and just did what he would
a burning home and saved have wanted someone to
five people, including a do for him and his family if
6-year-old girl he jumped their home was on fire.
out of a second-floor win- “It was all worth it. I kept
dow with, says he’s no hero reminding myself what a
and that the serious injuries small sacrifice. This tempo-
he suffered were “all worth rary pain ... it’s so worth it,”
it.” Nick Bostic, 25, of La- he told WLFI-TV.
fayette, was driving early A GoFundMe page set
on July 11 in the northwest- up for Bostic to help pay
ern Indiana city when he his hospital and medical
saw a house in flames. He bills had raised more than
stopped and ran inside to $470,000 by Wednesday
alert its residents. afternoon, far surpassing its
“I slammed on the brakes, $100,000 goal.
I turned the steering wheel, David Barrett, the four sib-
I did a 180. I ran into the lings’ father, told The Wash-
back of the house and I In this image taken from police bodycam video on July 11, 2022 and provided by the Lafayette, ington Post, that his family
was yelling for anybody. Ind., Police Department, Nick Bostic, 25, of Lafayette rescues a 6-year-old girl from a house fire in feels “very blessed for what
Four faces, three or four Lafayette, Ind. Nick did.”
faces, came out the top,” Associated Press “He’s a real hero, and my
he told WLFI-TV. home for that child. video captured the after- street, a tourniquet is ap- daughter’s a real hero for
An 18-year-old woman was “I heard a faint whine, a math of the jump, with Bos- plied to his arm after he lies waking the kids up. I don’t
in the home babysitting her faint crying noise and I tic backlit by the burning down in the grass. Bostic like to think about what
three siblings, ages 1, 6 and went down there till I found home and walking toward then asks, “Is the baby OK? might have happened if
13, along with a 13-year- that baby,” he said. first responders, the girl in his Please tell me the baby’s Nick hadn’t shown up. I’m
old friend of the 13-year- Because of the dense arms. OK” before someone off grateful beyond words,” he
old sibling, while the four smoke, he said his only op- In the video, a police of- camera assures him the said. Lafayette Fire Inves-
siblings’ parents were out tion was to exit through a ficer takes the crying child child is fine. tigation Chief Brian Alkire
playing darts, The Washing- second-floor window. Bos- while Bostic — who is wind- “You did good dude, OK?” told the (Lafayete) Journal
ton Post reported. tic punched out the glass ed and wheezing, with a an officer tells Bostic. & Courier that the fire start-
Bostic said the 18-year-old and jumped to safety with wounded right arm and Bostic, who suffered smoke ed on the front porch of the
was able to get three of the 6-year-old girl in his blood on his clothes — sits inhalation in addition to home in the city about 65
the children out, but she arms. He suffered multiple down on the curb, saying, his arm injury and other miles (105 kilometers) north-
told him one child was still injuries but the girl only suf- “I need oxygen.” wounds, was airlifted to an west of Indianapolis. Police
missing, prompting him to fered a minor cut to her After an officer helps Bostic Indianapolis hospital and said the fire remains under
search the smoke-filled foot. Police body camera to a safer spot across the discharged two days later. investigation.q

At least 21 homes destroyed by

Texas wildfires

day Wednesday, the Texas around the clock focusing and a no-fly zone has been
A&M Forest Service report- on protecting structures declared for the entire fire
ed. Sixteen homes were and digging a contain- area.
destroyed and five oth- ment line around the fire’s The Forest Service said that
ers were damaged, said northeastern leading edge. 99% of the state was ex-
spokeswoman Alexandra Airdrops of fire retardant periencing some level of
Schwier. began Wednesday morn- drought Wednesday.
Temperatures approach- ing with a special DC-10 Crews were also fighting
ing 110 degrees Fahren- called a very large air tank- a fire by air and on the
heit (43 degrees Celsius), er and two MD-80s called ground at Possum King-
combined with a relative large air tankers dropping dom Lake, about 70 miles
humidity near 20% and 10- 60,000 gallons of retardant (113 kilometers) west of
mph (16-kph) winds gusting near that leading edge Fort Worth. Fire crews had
to 20 mph (32kph), resisted by midafternoon, Schwier that two-day-old fire about
efforts to contain the fiery said. 15% contained to about
An airplane drops fire retardant on a wildfire near Glen Rose, spread beyond 10% con- The fire extended into 500 acres (202 hectares),
Texas, Wednesday, July 20, 2022. tainment, the Forest Ser- Hood County from neigh- where at least five homes
Associated Press vice said. boring Somervell County, had been destroyed, ac-
“In these fuels, resistance where County Judge Dan- cording to the agency.
By TERRY WALLACE cials said. to control is often high and ny Chambers has issued The agency used bulldoz-
Associated Press The Chalk Mountain Fire makes suppression efforts a disaster declaration be- ers to dig containment lines
A two-day-old wildfire near Glen Rose, Texas, had challenging for firefighters,” cause of the possibility of around the fire’s leading
remained on the move burned almost 10 square said Luke Kanclerz, a For- evacuations. A voluntary edge. Two crew members
Wednesday, with embers miles (26 square kilome- est Service fire analyst, in a evacuation notice was is- were treated for minor
from burning tree crowns ters) of mostly short grass, statement. sued for the county’s rural heat injuries and returned
flying up to 200 yards, offi- brush and juniper as of mid- Ninety firefighters worked northwestern quadrant, to service.q