Father, daughter killed in East Nashville fire

A Nashville man and his 4-year-old daughter died early Thursday in an East Nashville apartment fire, and investigators could not find any evidence of smoke alarms inside their home.

The fire began about 2 a.m. in the kitchen of the family's rental unit in the 200 block of Foster Street, said Brian Haas, Nashville Fire Department spokesman. The initial reports said children were trapped inside the triplex, he said.

Heavy smoke and flames were coming from the back of the building when firefighters arrived on scene. They rescued two children and had the blaze under control in about 15-20 minutes, Haas said.

Firefighters found the bodies of the man and his daughter inside the small apartment. They were tentatively identified by Metro police in a news release as Stefan Lavender, 34, and Stephine Lavender, 4. Police said the Medical Examiner's Office will officially confirm their identities.

The father and daughter are the second and third people to die in fires in Nashville this year, Haas said. In 2014 fires claimed six lives, he added.

"We don't get fire deaths all that often, and it's a tragedy when it happens," Haas said. "Across the state over the last couple of years, fire deaths have been dropping, and it's been largely attributed to greater awareness of smoke alarms."

While a smoke alarm was going off in a nearby unit in the triplex, firefighters and investigators were unable to find any evidence of smoke alarms in the apartment that burned, Haas said. At least one family member indicated there were not any smoke alarms.

"We may never figure out why there were no smoke alarms in there. There should have been," Haas said. "The best tool that you can have to keep your family safe is a smoke alarm and followed closely by having a family escape plan."

The Fire Marshal's Office will continue to probe the smoke detector issue. Haas said it is too early in the fire investigation to determine whether any code violations occurred. Nashville fire code requires rental property owners to install smoke alarms and puts the responsibility of maintaining them on the tenants, Haas said. The penalties for violating the smoke alarm provisions are a citation, $50 minimum fine and court costs, he said.

Investigators also know the stove caused the fire, but are not certain what caused the stove to catch fire, Haas said.

The two other apartments were occupied at the time of the fire, but none of the occupants were injured. The two rescued children were rushed to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt with burns and were listed in stable condition Thursday morning, officials said.

The American Red Cross was called to help the three families with emergency housing needs.

Reach Holly Meyer at 615-259-8241 and hmeyer@tennessean.com.