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Kansas man arrested after house fire killed woman, 2 girls

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The only survivor of a Kansas house fire that killed a woman and two young girls has been arrested on suspicion of setting the blaze.

Topeka police arrested Kyle J. Tyler, 32, of Holton, on Saturday, not long after he was released from a hospital once police questioned him.

He remained jailed Sunday on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder committed in the commission of another felony, arson and several other charges.

Tyler was being held in lieu of $1 million bail but had not been formally charged. No lawyer was listed for him yet in court records.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that the three who died in the Friday morning fire were identified by city spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker as Genny Fitzpatrick, 30, Peyton Tyler, 9, and Kourtney Tyler, 1. Fitzpatrick and one of the girls died at the scene, and the other girl died later at a hospital.

Fire investigators determined the blaze was set intentionally. Spiker said the incident was domestic in nature, and both Kyle Tyler and Fitzpatrick indicated on their Facebook pages that they had been in a relationship.

The two-story home sustained significant damage in the fire.