Mother catches kids who jump from burning SW Houston apartment

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A southwest Houston family is safe after literally jumping away from a fire early Tuesday morning. The mother woke up to the fire and frantically looked for a way to escape.

With only a thin American red cross blanket shielding her from the cold, Tharawa

Brackin could only stare in silence at what's left of her home -- her family's life.

"The first time I woke up, it's something. It feels very hot," she said.

Around 1:30am, flames ravaged t their second-story unit at the Louisville Apartments in the 9200 block of Clarewood. The young mother was asleep along with her 4- and 6-year-old kids and boyfriend.

Brackin woke up and soon discovered the front door wasn't an option for the family's escape, so she did the next best thing. She had her boyfriend break out the window, then jumped to the steel awning below.

That's where she waited to catch her two young children who followed her out.

"I told the kids, 'OK, OK, come here. I got to take you down, but they listened," she said. "They're scared."

The family moved into this unit only four months ago. On Tuesday, everything they had accumulated since they moved to the U.S. seven years ago now charred from the blaze. Even the son's backpack shows signs of what happened here.

Investigators believe the fire started on the second-story breezeway. They believe faulty lights are to blame.