No batteries in smoke detector where child died in fire

Fayetteville, N.C. — A smoke detector in a duplex where a 3-year-old girl died in a fire Sunday night didn't work because it had no batteries, authorities said Wednesday.

Nevaeh Pratt died when a fire swept through a duplex off Murchison Road. Her father, Kenneth Pratt, remains in critical condition at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, with third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body.

Investigators said the fire started in the kitchen, but they haven't yet pinpointed a cause. Relatives have said they think a faulty stove was to blame.

Commander Ron Lewis of the Fayetteville Fire Department said a smoke detector in the duplex had no batteries. State law requires that rental properties have working smoke alarms.