DULUTH, Ga.
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A fatal fire in Gwinnett County has killed two teens and left one in critical condition.
Gwinnett County Fire responded to the call this evening and found a three-story town home doused in heavy smoke at the front and fierce flames at the rear. Firefighters found three teens trapped in a closet as the flames engulfed the building.
The teens, three sisters who range from ages 12 to 19, were inside their Howell Park townhome in Duluth with their mom when the fire started sometime after eight this evening.
Investigators say the fire started in a bedroom on the main floor near the kitchen and quickly spread throughout the house. The mother was able to escape the home by jumping from a back deck, but the teens were somehow forced to retreat to a closet on the third floor of the home. They used a cell phone to make contact with 9-11 from the closet.
A neighbor saw the flames and tried to help rescue the girls."So they were screaming. I saw a police officer pull into the house next door. He was trying to kick the door down so I helped him. I was going to go inside but the police officer would not let me. As soon as I kicked the door, five seconds after, a pile of smoke and fire just started coming out the door and the fire department came over here and there's nothing we could have done, said neighbor Juan Hincabie.
Firefighters were able to get all three girls out of that closet and to safety. All three suffered severe smoke inhalation and burns. They were transported to Duluth GMC where two died from their injuries. The third remains in critical condition.
Investigators are not sure what caused the fire.
CBS Atlanta News is following this developing story and will provide more information as it becomes available.
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