Police in the British city of Manchester say the father of one of the three people killed in a house fire has been arrested.

Sky News reported Friday that 37-year-old Kevin Hargreaves, whose 8-year-old son John died in Thursday's deadly fire, was charged by police with suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

In addition to Hargreaves' son, the fire at a three-story home in Manchester's Openshaw area claimed the lives of the suspect's stepson Jordan Swift, 14, and stepdaughter Carly Swift, 19.

The mother of the victims, Susan Owen, 47, escaped the fire along with seven other children, including five of her own.

Hargreaves is thought to have jumped from a top floor window to escape the blaze, suffering unspecified burns during the fire.

An unidentified Greater Manchester police spokesman told Sky News an investigation into the fire was under way.