OKLAHOMA CITY --
Firefighters are investigating the cause of an early-morning house fire in the southeast part of Oklahoma City that killed three people and injured another person.
About 2:45 a.m. Friday, neighbors called 911 to report flames shooting from the windows at the house near Southeast 44th Avenue and Shallow Brook Drive.
While crews were on their way to the scene, neighbors began breaking windows and kicking in doors, but the smoke was too heavy for the neighbors to go inside the house. When crews arrived, firefighters were forced to take a defensive stance, battling the flames from outside of the home, Oklahoma City Deputy Fire Chief Cecil Clay said.
When it was safe for crews to go inside, rescuers searched the home for victims, Clay said. According to neighbors, a man and his two daughters died in the fire. The mother was taken to the hospital, neighbors said.
A man suffered minor injuries while trying to get inside the house to wake up the residents.
At least one smoke detector was located inside the home, but it did not have a working battery, authorities said.
Arson investigators and police are at the scene looking for what caused the blaze.
Log on to KOCO.com for updates on this latebreaking news.
