May 8, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (SH2005-21) FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION R. Steve Huffman Public Information Officer (251) 208-5806/Fax: (251) 208-5813 E-Mail: huffman@cityofmobile.org HOUSE FIRE CLAIMS THREE LIVES Mobile Fire-Rescue Department responded to a fatal house fire early Sunday morning, May 8, 2005 located at 2520 St. Stephens Road. The call was received at approximately 1:07 a.m. and first units arrived at approximately 1:10 a.m. and reported heavy fire coming from the front of the 1-story, wood frame, brick veneer structure. Three of the occupants escaped without apparent injury and told arriving firefighters there were at least three family members who remained in the structure. Firefighters had to force entry into the rear of the structure; burglar bars blocked the windows. Firefighters located all three victims who had already been claimed by the fire. Christopher Nichols, 26, told Mobile Fire Investigators that he heard someone yell out "this is fire call 911". Nichols got up and encountered heavy smoke, called 911 and ran to the room of his grandmother, Josephine Nichols, 76, and got her to safety outside the house. Also escaping the fire was Carl Nichols, 50. The younger Nichols told investigators he attempted to go back into the fire but was forced back by the fire and smoke. Josephine Nichol's husband, son and daughter did not escape the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation and is believed to have started in the area of the living and dining rooms. The structure was totally gutted by the fire, no dollar estimate has been established. Names of the victims will be released by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences upon notification of next of kin and positive identification. ###