LONDON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A 27-year-old man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder after at least three people were killed earlier in the day in a house fire in a village in Northern Ireland, the British police said.

The suspect was detained at the scene and transferred to hospital for treatment before his arrest, the police said.

Jason Murphy of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said, "At this time we believe the fire, which has claimed at least three lives, was started deliberately."

"We are continuing to thoroughly examine the scene along with our colleagues in the Northern Ireland fire and rescue service," Murphy said.

News pictures showed that the whitewashed rural bungalow in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, which is near the British border with the Republic of Ireland, was destroyed in the blaze and the roof collapsed.

The victims are from the same family, news reports said.

Firefighters from Lisnaskea and Enniskillen were called to what the fire service described as a "well-developed" blaze at a property in Doon Road, near Molly Road in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, at 7:14 a.m.local time.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service tweeted two hours later to say the blaze had been extinguished.