A Yelm man broke a window in the bedroom where his twin stepdaughters slept Thursday morning and pulled them from their burning house, firefighters reported.

“He saved their lives,” said Fire Chief Rita Hutcheson with Southeast Thurston Fire and EMS. “The stepdad broke out the bedroom window from the outside and got them out. Otherwise, it could have been much worse.”

The 9-year-old girls suffered smoke inhalation and were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. One of the girls also had second-degree burns on one of her arms, Hutcheson said, adding that their injuries were not as bad as first feared.

Both parents and a 13-year-old sister escaped the 2:15 a.m. fire without injury.

The first-arriving firefighters found the single-story wood-frame house at 16200 118th Lane S.E. full of smoke, Hutcheson said. The fire probably started earlier in the night and smoldered for some time, spreading smoke throughout the house, the chief said.

The blaze apparently broke out in the living room and burned a sofa before firefighters put out the flames.

The twins were asleep in a back bedroom with the door open, which allowed smoke to enter the room. Doors to the other bedrooms were closed.

“The older daughter told a firefighter that she heard crackling and smelled smoke,” Hutcheson said. “She had a window next to her bed. She went out and alerted her parents.”

Hutcheson said firefighters found no working smoke alarms in the house.

The fire appears to be accidental, most likely caused by an electrical failure, Hutcheson. A lamp was plugged in behind the sofa where the fire occurred, she said.

Smoke and water damage left the house uninhabitable, Hutcheson added. Firefighters planned to notify the Red Cross so the agency could assist the family, she said.

Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692

mike.archbold@thenewstribune.com