by MICHAEL WILSON and AL BAKER
A fourth person has died as a result of a suspicious fire in Queens on Sunday.
The man, William Salazar, 31, a tenant in the building who was critically injured in the fire, died on Thursday at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital.
On Sunday, he was heard arguing with a woman shortly before the blaze broke out at the three-story building at 69th Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village.
Investigators have said they are looking into whether Mr. Salazar or the woman, Agnes Bermudez, 48, a former companion, played some role in starting the fire.
Police and fire officials are trying to determine whether the fire started as a result of a dispute between the couple.
Ms. Bermudez was injured and remains hospitalized.
Investigators have recovered a video from a surveillance camera in the building that shows Mr. Salazar and Ms. Bermudez frantically running out of the building together. Both are engulfed in flames.
The officials say one possibility is that Ms. Bermudez threw an accelerant on Mr. Salazar or he threw an accelerant on her.
Another possibility, they say, is that one of them set himself on fire and then the other somehow became engulfed.
The fire has been deemed suspicious, but it is unclear whether the building was intentionally set on fire.
Investigators wanted to speak with Mr. Salazar, but they never got a chance because of his condition, said Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the Police Department.
Also, investigators have not yet spoken with Ms. Bermudez.
Three other people, Heriberto Garcia-Vera, 68; his wife, Flor Marina Sandoval, 48; and their son, Felipe Garcia Sandoval, 20, were killed in the fire.
Four others, including Ms. Bermudez, were injured.
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