After a rollover crash left eight Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) firefighter severely injured in 2024, the grueling journey of healing and recovery continues.
Matthew Nichols, one of the injured firefighters, is learning to speak again at a rehabilitation facility after suffering a train trauma in the crash. Nichols and seven other crewmembers were on their way back from battling the Airport Fire when their engine rolled over from the impact of a collision.
Clarissa Nichols, the firefighter’s wife, exclusively told NBC Los Angeles that her husband’s recovery is going to be a life-long journey as she documents every step forward.
For the recent winter holidays, Nichols and his family gathered at his rehab facility in pajamas and opened gifts in his room. The couple also watched their son grow up as the toddler is soon turning 2 years old.
“There are things along the way — the first time he smiled, the first time he laughed,” Clarissa Nichols said as she shared her family’s story from Nebraska where she now lives to be close to her husband’s rehab center.
“Now we are in Year 2, and he’s starting to come back a lot cognitively, and just his personality starting to come through,” she described.
The devoted wife said she decided to share the story to let people know about Matthew’s “amazing” personality and his commitment to recovery.
“He was the epitome of, ‘How can I make everyone else around me better?’” she described. “He was the friend that would get up at 3 or 4 in the morning to meet you at the gym because you had goals. He embodied all of that – the team work.”
Matthew Nichols became involved in the devastating crash nearly two years after landing his dream job: an OCFA squad boss of the Santiago hand crew.
“I could hear the panic in his voice,” Clarissa Nichols said, describing the call she got about the collision from an OCFA official.
The firefighter suffered a Grade 3 axonal injury, the most severe type of brain trauma, and was in a coma for 17 days.
“A lot of moments that you felt, ‘How do we get out of this? How do we get through?’” the wife recalled. “And I look back and say, ‘Wow, look where he is now.’”
While his mobility is limited, and his speech is jumped yet, he can speak again as the family takes one day at a time.
“Our story is not over. His story is not over,” Clarissa Nichols said. “I’ve always known he’s meant for something.”
She said what helps her keep going is a quote her husband had sent her before the crash, a sign she said came from the university, reminding her to be strong.
“Part of that quote said, “It may take two years from a major injury to see how far you’ve come. Take a deep breath, stop worrying about immediate results and settle into a nice routine,” she said. “That was 40 minutes before the accident.”
The goal is to have her husband home by the end of this year, Clarissa Nichols said.
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