Dad, toddler ID'd after Fort Lee fire

FORT LEE, Va. (WAVY) - A soldier and his 2-year-old daughter have been identified after their bodies were found following an early morning fire in a housing unit at Fort Lee.

According to the U.S. Army, Fort Lee Fire and Emergency Services responded to the unit around 3 a.m. Monday and found the bodies of 24-year-old Sgt. Corey Flowers and his daughter, Kourtney.

Corey's wife and Kourtney's mother, Spc. Pauletta Flowers, was not home at the time of the fire. She is assigned to the 530th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at Fort Lee.

Investigators have determined the fire sparked in the first-floor kitchen of the duplex building due to unattended cooking. An open frying pan and cooking oil caused the blaze.

The bodies of Corey and Kourtney were sent to Portsmouth Naval Medical Center for autopsies. The cause of their deaths has not been determined at this time.

"Sgt. Flowers, a native of Raeford, N.C., was a mortuary affairs specialist with the 54th Quartermaster Company," the Army said. "He joined the Army in 2006 and has been stationed at Fort Lee ever since."

Neighbors in the duplex building called 911 after the fire began to spread to their home, activating the smoke detectors. The home suffered some damage from the fire. 

The Army said the Hopewell Fire Department also responded to the scene.

Stay with WAVY.com for more on this developing story.