Tragically, 4-year-old twin brothers Lathan and Langston McDaniel lost their lives in an early Monday morning fire in the Hermitage neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville officials say the fire began around 4:30 a.m. on July 28 at a home on Arbor Pointe Way.
Reports of flames taking in the back deck of the home shortly before spreading to the roof caused the Nashville Fire Department (NFD) to act immediately. When they turned up, they found a mother outside with one of her three children. She told them, through heartache and smoke, that her twin boys, ages four, continued to be inside, trapped upstairs.
Lathan and Langston were on the second floor of the burning Nashville house when firefighters walked in. The boys were pronounced dead at the scene despite swift attempts to save their lives, as per People.
The family and the community at large are in mourning as a consequence of what happened.
Family friend Lacey Corbitt, who has set up a GoFundMe campaign in their honor, wrote, “[They] were absolutely the lights of our world.” Lathan and Langston were “micro-preemie survivors” who had battled through medical problems in their first years of life with extraordinary courage and dedication.
The Nashville twins’ tale is one of heartbreak after staying alive. Lathan and Langston were born prematurely and went through multiple operations and medical procedures during their very short lives. However, both boys were a source of joy, laughter, and light, according to those who knew them.
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“Words cannot express the grief and despair this whole family (and the village it has taken to love and support them well) are currently experiencing. I am trying to assist this family in renewing all that they have lost that is possible to replace. We will never be able to get back their beautiful miracle twins, but maybe we can try to help replace all that has been lost,” Nashville-based Corbitt wrote in the fundraiser description.
⚠️ WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of fatalities.
Twin boys, Lathan & Langston, both 4, were killed in a house fire in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 18, after being trapped inside their home. The Nashville Fire Department stated the fire sparked on an outdoor… pic.twitter.com/1AkHWETjig
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) July 30, 2025
The boys leave behind their mother, Jessica McDaniel, who friends say is mentally broken but physically uninjured, and their younger sister, Lexi Rose. “They are physically ok… mentally, she’s not ok,” Corbitt told The Tennessean.
The goal is $30,000, though as of July 30, more than $12,000 has been raised. The funds will go towards helping the family members recover from the horrible loss and cover the expenses for the funeral.
The Nashville Fire Department is still looking into the cause of the fire.
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When firefighters showed up, they noticed that the back deck was already on fire and that thick black smoke was billowing to the roof. Based on reports, escape and rescue efforts were very difficult due to the fire’s scope and speed.
Family friend starts fundraising, mourns loss of 4-year-old Nashville twins killed in fire https://t.co/pPud5sH9gK
— Tennessean (@Tennessean) July 30, 2025
“We’re very saddened that today in this home we lost those two children,” NFD spokesperson Kendra Loney said.
The department has not yet disclosed the findings of its investigation or a probable cause.
Discussions about fire safety have been brought back by this incident, particularly with regard to relation to early warning systems and the monitoring of building codes. But for the time being, Nashville has its sights on helping a family that has been ravaged by unimaginable tragedy and grieving the loss of two bright, beloved children.
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