In the early hours of Boxing Day, Ms Nichols’ father-in-law Keith was woken by a bang.
He looked out the window and saw a fire in the back garden and rushed outside to see what was going on.
He found the oil tank engulfed in flames.
“Being woken up during the night, you’re in a deep sleep and then you wake up to being told there’s a fire,” Ms Nichols said.
“It’s just your worst nightmare.
“My eldest daughter came running down the stairs. My first instinct was we need to get these kids out of this house.”
While her husband and father-in-law attempted to douse the fire with a garden hose, Ms Nichols transported her children to their neighbours and contacted the fire service.
Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after 03:00 GMT and successfully subdued the fire.