OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A fire that swept through an Oklahoma City home where four people were found dead was intentionally set, police said Tuesday.
Authorities are searching for a man believed to be at the house when the blaze began, said police Sgt. Gary Knight. Investigators "believe he may have information regarding the incident," Knight said.
Firefighters discovered the bodies of three women and one man early Monday inside the burning one-story brick home in a neighborhood of well-kept houses on the city's southwest side.
Their identities have not been released, and Knight said the medical examiner's office has not yet determined how they died.
Melvin Watkins, whose family owns the home, said he rented it about three months ago to 31-year-old Jose Fernando Fierro.
Knight said Fierro was not one of the victims. He would not say if Fierro was the person police were seeking. Fierro has not been charged with a crime and police have not named him as a suspect.
There was a busy signal Monday and Tuesday at a telephone number listed for Fierro, and messages left with several family members were not returned.
Watkins said he saw Fierro Sunday evening when he dropped off some items at a storage shed behind the home. He said the man was at the house alone and nothing seemed amiss.
"He was watching me and waved at me," Watkins said. "That's the last connection I had with him."
A neighbor, Jay Holliday, said he was reading his newspaper about 5:15 a.m. Monday when he heard three "popping" noises. Fire officials were notified of the fire about five minutes later.
An entry on Fierro's MySpace page at 11:26 p.m. Sunday read: "kick'n back having a few beers..." The page also shows that someone logged on to his account sometime Monday. Another posting on Wednesday, Nov. 4, read: "On my way (to) anger management class..."
Court records show Fierro has had at least three protective orders sought against him, including one in Cleveland County sought by his ex-wife in July.
In her petition for the order, his ex-wife claims he was verbally and physically abusive, and that he kicked and used a belt to discipline their son. The protective order was dismissed after she failed to appear in court, records show.
Court records show the couple divorced in Grady County in 2003, but that earlier this year the ex-wife sought a motion to modify the divorce decree. A hearing in that case was scheduled for Dec. 17.
Fierro's attorney in that case said she has not heard from Fierro recently. Fierro's ex-wife did not return telephone messages on Tuesday.
Two other women sought protective orders against Fierro in 1998, claiming he kicked in a door and then hit one of the women. The other, who indicated in a court petition the two had a child together, claimed he scuffled with members of her family when she went to pick up the child.
Monday's fire came less than a week after a blaze at a southwest Oklahoma City apartment building several miles away that killed three people. Investigators have said that fire was intentionally set.
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