Nicholas Bostic was driving along a street in Lafayette, Indiana last week just after midnight, when he saw a house fully engulfed in flames. There were no firetrucks or other emergency vehicles in sight, so Nicholas decided to act ... he ran into the burning house and began yelling to see if anyone was still inside.

He heard nothing, but still felt there may be people trapped, so he walked through the house which was filled with choking smoke and made his way upstairs, where he found 4 kids ... they ranged in age from 1 to 18. They were sleeping, and Nicholas woke them and they ran to safety.

They were all outside, when one of the kids told Nicholas there was a 6-year-old child still inside the house. Nicholas ran back inside, but he had no idea where the child was ... he screamed for the child as he meandered through the burning home, even looking under beds.

He made his way upstairs, but then heard a child crying in the downstairs area. Problem was ... smoke was everywhere and it felt like an oven. Nicholas couldn't see but he wrapped his shirt around his mouth and took the plunge downstairs, where he located the child.

Nicholas scooped up the little girl in the blinding black smoke and looked for the door but he couldn't see it. So, he ran back upstairs with the child and jumped from the second-floor window, making sure he landed on his side so the child was protected from impact.

The child incredibly was unharmed. Nicholas, however, suffered severe smoke inhalation and, according to cops, "gravely cut his right arm."  You see in the video EMTs use a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. He was flown to a hospital where he was treated.

His cousin has created a GoFundMe account and so far he's raised north of $200,000.