HOUSTON -- A man who was cooking in a kitchen was intentionally set on fire, officials told KPRC Local 2.

"I said, "'Oh you got burnt,'" said witness Michelle Lavergne. "He got burned on the back of his neck. I saw it, his face was all burned. His skin all here fell off."

Houston police said they believe the man got into a fight with a neighbor earlier in the day.

Investigators said the man was cooking pork chops at a home on Liberty Road near Pannell Street at about 1:15 p.m. when the neighbor allegedly walked into the kitchen with some kind of a flammable liquid and doused the man.

"He was cooking right by the stove," said Officer Tony Chavez. "When the liquid was thrown on him, he probably caught fire from the stove."

Police said a friend of the victim's was in the kitchen at the time. She suffered burns on her arm.

She said she'd been through too much to talk about.

"She kept saying, 'Call an ambulance, call an ambulance,'" said Lavergne.

The 60-year-old man was taken to Hermann Hospital in critical condition. Arson investigators say he had burns on 70 percent of his body.

Police don't know what the liquid was, but several people said the kitchen smelled like gasoline.

Police searched around the property, but could not find the liquid's container.

"I have no idea what the argument was about," said Chavez.

The neighbor initially went with police to voluntarily give a statement. Police said he will be charged with aggravated assault.