Mom grabs son, 4, and jumps out window to save him from fire that killed most of her family

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County mother said she jumped out of a window with her 4-year-old to save him from a fire that ended up killing most of her family.

Alysia Nichols just got out of the hospital a couple of days ago.

“I woke up to popping, like loud popping sound. Bad smoke, real bad smoke. It was black,” Nichols told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell in an exclusive interview Monday.

As the fire began to spread, Nichols said she tried to rescue her 14-year-old daughter, Jonquil.

“I Ran across the hall trying to get my daughter and I couldn’t get her out,” Nichols said.

Her mother and nephew were also inside the home, but she could only get to her 4-year-old son.

“Just picked him up, ran to the window, opened it and jumped out,” Nichols said.

She told Newell that the child made it out without a scratch on his body. Nichols is still recovering.

“I lost a kidney ... 16 fractures in my back,” Nichols said.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Police give warning after bear spotted roaming metro parking lot
• Witness describes ‘commotion everywhere’ as high-speed crash kills driver in DeKalb County
• Man accused of kidnapping woman, leading police on high speed chase in Gwinnett County

Injuries that are incomparable to the deepest pain Nichols feels. She lost her daughter, mother and nephew.

“I feel awful, I really do,” Nichols said.

Jonquil was a rising student within the Cobb County School District.

“She was a great person. She was quiet. She helped me a lot,” Nichols said.

Nichols’ mother Nancy was a school bus driver for special needs students and loved to give back.

Her nephew Rudy loved helping out around the house.

“She would take Rudy and another friend of our son to the Special Olympics,” family friend Jennifer Tasker said.

Nichols told Newell that her mother left the grill on the night before the fire and that’s what fire investigators believe started the fire.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help out the family.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Family devastated after tree falls on their home just about 3 weeks after they moved in

©2023 Cox Media Group