YELM, Wash.
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Twin 9-year-old sisters were critically injured in a small house fire near Yelm Thursday morning.
The girls were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with burns.
According to Southeast Thurston Fire Chief Rita Hutcheson, the hot, thick smoke is what injured the girls, who suffered burns to their bodies and airways.
Hutcheson said the girls were trapped at first, but their father was able to get them out of the house at Morris Road Southeast and 118th Lane Southeast through a back window.
The chief said one of the children said she awoke when she heard crackling and then smelled smoke.
Hutcheson said the fire appeared to have started in a front room around a couch shortly before 2 a.m. The exterior of the house was not damaged.
Hutcheson said firefighters found smoke detectors in boxes at the house but found none installed.
The girls' parents and 13-year-old sister were also in the house at the time of the fire. They were not hurt.
Both girls are expected to recover.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
WATCH IT: 2 Girls Airlifted, Burned In Yelm Fire
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