2 Maryland sisters, 5 and 7, killed in house fire

CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) — Two girls have been killed in a house fire in western Maryland.

A spokesman for fire marshal’s office says the girls are sisters and identifies them as 5-year-old Halaina Smith and 7-year-old Emily Edwards of Cumberland. Those identities are pending confirmation by the coroner’s office.

Fire marshal’s spokesman Bruce Bouch says the girls’ parents and two siblings made it out alive.

The fire broke out around 3 a.m. Thursday at a two-store wood-framed duplex in Cumberland.

Bouch says the fire started in the unit were the family lived. Residents of the duplex’s other unit survived.

It’s unclear how the fire started. Bouch says the duplex had working smoke alarms but no sprinklers. An investigation is underway.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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