Alysia Nichols was awakened by the sound of popping and explosions that shook the bedroom of her Cobb County family’s home. She looked up at the white walls that surrounded both her and her 4-year-old son, which were now hidden by dark smoke.
“Everything was black,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday morning.
Flames quickly tore through the one-story house late last month as Nichols rushed across the hall to her 14-year-old daughter’s bedroom in a panic. She tried everything to get Jonquil out, but was stopped by the scorching heat and unrelenting smoke. The 42-year-old then ran back to the other bedroom, picked up her son William, and, without hesitation, jumped out of a window into the yard.
At that point, Nichols’ 75-year-old mother and 21-year-old nephew were still inside the Merry Oak Road home. She limped around outside, toward the awaiting red lights of fire engines situated on the street behind a swing set, and felt pain as her memory went blank.
Credit: Ben Hendren for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Ben Hendren for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
About eight hours later, Nichols found herself in the hospital with several broken bones and the knowledge that her mother, Nancy Martin, was dead. Her nephew, Rudy Martin, whom Nancy had adopted at birth, had also been killed, and Jonquil had been flown to an Augusta hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
Nichols said William spent four days in the hospital getting ventilation treatment, but he survived and is doing fine.
“It’s awful,” she said. “I wish I would have been able to get my daughter, and I felt really bad because my mom and my nephew were in there.”
Cobb fire crews were called to the home near the East-West Connector in the early morning hours of July 26 and found heavy smoke and flames coming from the front and left sides of the residence, where the family had lived since 1988.
The other family members had to be pulled out through the windows due to the intense flames billowing from the front door. Fire authorities have not provided an official cause of the blaze, but Nichols said they told her that Martin left the grill on the previous evening.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Until a few years ago, the residence served as a foster home where Martin took care of Rudy, who had autism, and a few other children prior to her retirement. She was a special needs school bus driver in Cobb and would take Rudy to Special Olympics sporting events every week, her daughter said.
In 2021, Nichols moved into the home shortly after her husband died in a car wreck. At the time, Martin calmly told the devastated widow she didn’t need to worry about raising her children alone. She was always there for her family.
“I would want my mom to be remembered as a great person,” Nichols said, pausing briefly to contain her emotions. “I loved my mom.”
Jonquil was a passionate student at Garrett Middle School in Austell, her mother said. She had a perfect attendance record every year and helped out with chores around the house. The teenager looked after William while Nichols worked as a cashier at a nearby Food Depot store. On her days off, Nichols fondly remembers taking trips with her children to the park or shopping.
“She was wonderful,” Nichols said of her daughter.
Credit: Alysia Nichols
Credit: Alysia Nichols
Rudy recently graduated from high school and could usually be found playing video games when he wasn’t involved in Special Olympics. He loved to sing, Nichols said, and his voice would travel from his bedroom to other areas of the house as he sang along to the children’s music group Kidz Bop.
Credit: Alysia Nichols
Credit: Alysia Nichols
Nichols said funeral dates haven’t been determined. She picked up their ashes but is still waiting for death certificates and possible financial help from the American Red Cross. A GoFundMe page created to help pay for funeral expenses and ease their financial burden had raised more than $10,000 as of Monday afternoon.
Credit: Alysia Nichols
Credit: Alysia Nichols
The fire not only took away most of Nichols’ family, but it left her with a scarred face, 16 fractures in her back and a broken foot and hand, she said. The mother, who also lost a kidney, is temporarily staying at her brother Greg’s house, but she remains positive and thankful to still have her little William by her side.
“I am so happy because of that,” she said.
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